By Charlotte Wells on SwimSwam
2025 U.S. Summer Championships
- Tuesday, August 5 – Friday, August 8, 2025
- Irvine, California
- William Woollett Aquatics Center
- Start Times
- Prelims: 9:00 am local / 12:00 pm ET
- Finals: 5:00 pm local / 8:00 pm ET
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Stream Info (Available on USA Swimming Network App)
- Live Recaps
The second finals session of the 2025 U.S. Summer Championships is underway, and it is already off to an exciting start as athletes look ahead to next summer’s competitions.
This meet serves as a qualifying opportunity for swimmers to make the U.S. National Team roster for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, with tonight’s finals providing the first major shake-up to the projected roster that we have seen so far.
Carmel Swim Club’s Aaron Shackell posted a stellar performance in the men’s 400 free tonight, racing into the wall in a best time of 3:45.03 to claim the championship title. His race marks the 2nd-fastest time in the country this season, putting him in a provisional spot on Team USA’s Pan Pacs roster.
Shackell shaved .42 off of his previous best time of 3:45.45 from the Paris Olympics last summer and overtook Luka Mijatovic for the priority two ranking in the event. His time was .68 faster than Mijatovic’s 3:45.71 at the U.S. Nationals in June, bumping Mijatovic down to the priority four ranking in the event.
The Pan Pacs rosters can hold a maximum of twenty-six men and twenty-six women, and only the swimmers with the two fastest times in any event (besides the 100 and 200 free) within the qualifying period are eligible to be named to the roster.
Longhorn Aquatics’ Rex Maurer currently has a firm grip on the #1 roster spot in this event, having posted a 3:43.33 at the U.S. National Championships in June.
New Men’s 400 Freestyle Rankings:
- Rex Maurer – 3:43.33
- Aaron Shackell– 3:45.03
- Luka Mijatovic – 3:45.71
- Kieran Smith– 3:45.73
- Ryan Erisman – 3:46.01
- David Johnston – 3:47.10
- Kieran Smith – 3:47.17
- Luke Hobson – 3:47.47
Shackell got off to a fast start in the 400 tonight, going out in 53.66 to take a commanding lead of over a second at the 100 mark. He was 1:50.42 at the 200, over two seconds ahead of runner-up Kieran Smith, who split 1:52.62 at the halfway mark. Shackell managed to hold on through the back half, posting a 1:54.61 on his second 200 to fend off Smith, who came close to chasing him down with a 1:53.11 on the back half.
In addition to logging a new lifetime best and landing himself on the Pan Pacs roster, Shackell bumped himself up to 11th in the world this season. He now ranks just behind Bulgaria’s Petar Mitsin (3:45.01).
The U.S. Summer Championships mark the fourth of five qualifying competitions for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, so it is getting down to the wire for swimmers to turn in a performance that could land them on Team USA’s roster for next summer. With one more meet to go before the roster can be finalized, there is still a chance that Shackell could be bumped from his priority two ranking in the 400 free, but he looks to be safely in the #2 spot for Pan Pacs at the moment.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Aaron Shackell Swims 3:45.03 400 Free to Snag #2 Spot on Team USA’s Pan Pacs Roster
