U.S. breaks mixed medley relay world record, Katie Ledecky wins 1,500 at Pan Pacific Championships

IRVINE, Calif. — The U.S. 4×100-meter mixed medley relay team set a world record Wednesday at the Pan Pacific Championships, capping the first day of one of the largest meets of the year.

Will Modglin swam the backstroke with Van Mathias taking the breaststroke leg, while Gretchen Walsh swam butterfly, and Kate Douglass handled the freestyle. They finished in 3 minutes, 36.70 seconds.

The U.S. previously set the world record at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a time of 3:37.43. That relay team consisted of Ryan Murphy, Nicolas Fink, Walsh and Torri Huske.

Walsh and Douglass both already held individual world records. Modglin and Mathias are new to the record books. Mathias, a sprint specialist who had retired for two years before returning to the sport in 2025, split a 57.30, nearly a full second faster than Fink’s split in Paris. Douglass also had a massive split, going 51.01 in the final 100.

Australia and Canada took silver and bronze, respectively.

All four of the American swimmers also won medals earlier in the evening. Walsh flirted with the 50-meter butterfly world record and took gold, with Douglass finishing in silver position. Mathias earned silver in the 50-meter butterfly, and Modglin was second in the 100-meter backstroke.

Five Americans, four Australians and one Canadian won gold on the first day of Pan Pacs, the biggest meet of the year for swimming nations outside of Europe. That includes Katie Ledecky, the American star who continued her dominance in the 1,500-meter freestyle by holding off a strong effort from Australia’s Lani Pallister.

Katie Ledecky continues her unbeaten streak as she wins yet another 1500m freestyle race. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LVW9UJb7j1

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 13, 2026

Earlier in the night, Pallister beat Canadian star Summer McIntosh for gold in the 200m freestyle.

It was the second world record to fall Wednesday. In Paris at the European championships, the corresponding major event across the pond, Italy’s Sara Curtis broke the three-year-old 50-meter backstroke mark.