Australia Names 32-Strong Team For Junior Pan Pacs After Record Breaking Age Championships
Australia has named a 32-strong team of swimmers for this year’s Junior Pan Pacs after a hugely successful Australian Age Championships on the Gold Coast -which saw 18 new National records set.
Queensland’s rising stars Lincoln Wearing (Chandler), Leny Grigor (Somerset) and Amelie Smith (Rocky City), Victorian backstroke trailblazer Henry Allan (Bendigo East, VIC) and NSW’s Australian Open breaststroke winner Sienna Toohey (Albury, NSW) will headline the Junior Dolphins for the four-day Junior Pan Pacs meet in Vancouver, Canada (August 17-20).
NOT ON YOUR PAT: Junior Pan Pac Team mates Lukas Dunn (left) and Leny Grigor at 2026 Australian Age. A huge thrill for Dunn, who is the son of Australian Olympian Matt Dunn and two-time Iceland Olympian Eydis Konradsdottir. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)
Toohey, already a World Championship relay silver medallist in 2025, is a likely temporary inclusion given she has expressed her intention to race at Selection Trials for Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.
While Allan will face decision time too, given his rapid rise up the World and Australian rankings as Australia’s fastest backstroker in 2026 – swimming times at the Age that would have won him the 50, 100 and 200m backstroke events at the Australian Open – the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs sure to now be on his radar.
Held every two years between charter nations of USA, Japan, Australia and Canada and featuring other Pacific Rim (non European) nations.
Australia hosted the last Junior Pan Pacs in 2024 at the Australian Institute of Sport, in Canberra – a meet that saw Milla Jansen, Hannah Casey and Toohey deliver standout performances, launching their senior Dolphins careers at last year’s World Championships.
DANCE TIME: Time to celebrate for Amelie Smith and her seven gold and Junior Pan Pac Selection. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr Swimming Australia.
The Junior Dolphins were selected from their outstanding results over the eight-day Australian Age that featured 18 national records.
Of the 32 swimmers, there are 15 from Queensland, 12 from NSW, two from Victoria and WA and one from South Australia.
The youngest is 15-year-old Ava Hogan from Chandler, QLD and the eldest is 18-year-old Tristen Waugh (Knox Pymble, NSW).
Representatives from 29 different clubs from five States – several clubs in regional and country areas from Bendigo East in Victoria to Albury, North Albury, Wagga and Woy Woy in NSW and up to Cairns and Rockhampton in Far North and Central Queensland.
With three Brisbane, clubs Chandler (Ava Hogan and Lincoln Wearing), Brisbane Grammar (Eloise McLellan and Maxwell Cunningham) and Nudgee College, (Angus Cran and Daniel Van Luik) all providing two swimmers each.
PUNCHED HIS TICKET: Lincoln Wearing on his way to Vancouver. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia).
team named after a week of swimming that certainly pleased Junior Pan Pacs Head Coach and Swimming Australia National Youth Coach, Simon Cusack who said it was pleasing to see so many wonderful performances, a spread of medals across the clubs and an increased depth in events.
“We’ve had great success with our Next Gen camps. For example, we had terrific progress in the boys 400IM where we had top three go under qualifying time and that shows increasing depth and return on investment,” Cusack said.
“Another highlight has been the emergence of Chandler in the distance swimming events under Tsuyoshi Kimura. Lincoln Wearing has been a stand out performer, he has been world-class,” Cusack said.
“His coach Tsuyoshi Kimura has had such huge impact and you can also see that with Ava (Hogan) who has made great gains since moving into the program.”
Cusack said 16-year-old Wearing had impressed with his four freestyle gold medals over 200, 400, 800 and 1500m , two bronze in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley and a National age record.
In the 800m, Wearing lowered his own National age record to 7:56.04.
In the 1500m, Wearing’s 15:10.44 was the fourth fastest time ever for his age group, behind Kieren Perkins (14:58.08), Grant Hackett (15:03.67) and Mack Horton (15:04.87).
Smith hails from Rockhampton, just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. And the girl they call “Smiley” swept the pool in the 17 years age group, with seven gold and one silver.
Not only did Smith win gold in all of the middle distance and distance freestyle events (400, 800 and 1500m) she claimed the 200m, 400m IM double, the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke gold and silver in the 100m breaststroke.
BREAKER BREAKER: It’s been a record breaking, break through Australian Age for Henry Allan. Photo Courtey Delly Carr Swimming Australia.
East Bendigo’s Allan won five gold, claimed three National Age Records and three All-Comers Records.
The super backstroker started his campaign smashing Mitch Larkin’s old National age record from 2011 in the 17-year boys’ 200m backstroke heats (1:57.56).
Later that day in the finals, Allan went even quicker (1:57.00) and broke USA Olympian Aaron Peirsol’s All-Comers old mark that had stood for almost 26 years.
The boy from Bendigo also clocked an All-comers record in the 50m backstroke heats (24.84) before taking Isaac Cooper’s Australian Age record to win gold (24.51). In all, Allan claimed the backstroke three-peat (50m, 100m & 200m) as well as the 50 and 200m freestyles to be the most successful swimmer in his 17-year Boys’ age group.
With Grigor winning four Golds, setting three National Age Records and one All-Comers Record.
Leny shooting out of the blocks from his first final when he smashed Mitch Larkin’s 400 IM National age record to set a new mark of 4:16.15.
SKY’S THE LIMIT: Manly’s Lill;y McPherson celebrates her triple treat on the Gold Coast and Junior Pan Pac selection for Vancouver. Photo Courtesy Delly Carr (Swimming Australia)
The Somerset GC local went on to set an All-comers record of 2:12.48 in the 200m breaststroke and break the 200 IM National Age record (2:00.53).
Closing out his campaign with a sizzling 1:01.40 in the 100m breaststroke to claim his fourth gold and third National age record.
Among the unsung heroes was Manly’s 17-year-old Lillie McPherson (Coach Justin Rothwell) who first represented Australia at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinbago who won three gold, two silver and one bronze – her gold’s coming in the 50 (25.47) and 200 freestyle (1:59.33) and 100m butterfly (58.91).
Australian Junior Dolphins Team
2026 Junior Pan Pacs, Vancouver, Canada, August 17-20.
| First Name | Surname | Age | Club | State | |
| Henry | Allan | 17 | Bendigo East | VIC | |
| Alba | Arnell | 17 | Melbourne SC | VIC | |
| Charlie | Austin | 17 | Brisbane Jets | QLD | |
| Angus | Cran | 16 | Nudgee College | QLD | |
| Allegra | Crean | 16 | Marion | SA | |
| Maxwell | Cunningham | 16 | Brisbane Grammar | QLD | |
| Brielle | Dredge | 16 | Kwinana | WA | |
| Lukas | Dunn | 16 | Knox Pymble | NSW | |
| Cael | Eley | 18 | St Peters Western | QLD | |
| Leny | Grigor | 16 | Somerset GC | QLD | |
| Luke | Higgs | 18 | Warringah | NSW | |
| Olivia | Hine | 18 | Somerville House | QLD | |
| Ava | Hogan | 15 | Chandler | QLD | |
| Sydney | Kito | 18 | Cairns Stingrays | QLD | |
| Archie | Kreutzberger | 17 | North Albury | NSW | |
| Andre | Labara | 15 | Wagga Wagga | NSW | |
| Kira | Long | 17 | SOSC | NSW | |
| Cashy | Luo | 17 | Rackley | QLD | |
| Eloise | McLellan | 16 | Brisbane Grammar | QLD | |
| Lillie | McPherson | 17 | Manly | NSW | |
| Jodie | Mead | 17 | Woy Woy | NSW | |
| Chris | Montana | 16 | Trinity Grammar | NSW | |
| Anouk | Potter | 16 | Highlanders | WA | |
| Lilla | Ribot-De-Bresac | 16 | Newmarket Racers | QLD | |
| Asha | Ring | 17 | Sydney Uni | NSW | |
| Heidi | Shumack | 16 | SOSC | NSW | |
| Amelie | Smith | 17 | Rocky City | QLD | |
| Sienna | Toohey | 17 | Albury | NSW | |
| Daniel | Van Luik | 16 | Nudgee College | QLD | |
| Tristen | Waugh | 18 | Knox Pymble | NSW | |
| Lincoln | Wearing | 16 | Chandler | QLD | |
| Maya | Zunker | 16 | Griffith Uni | QLD | |
Team Coaches:
Chris Urquhart (Somerset, QLD)
Steve Miller (Newmarket Racers, QLD),
Tsuyoshi Kimura (Chandler, QLD)
Stewart Melton (Nudgee College, QLD)
Steve Goodier, (Knox Pymble, NSW)
Justin Rothwell (Manly, NSW)