After winning 3 gold medals at the European Aquatics Championships last week in Paris, Florian Wellbrock (28, Germany, World Aquatics bio here) immediately drove to the Aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle, hopped on a direct flight to LAX, and landed in Los Angeles on Sunday morning. After one night’s rest, he handily won the 10 km race at the 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Long Beach, California this Monday morning.

As Wellbrock said the race, “There is no time to be tired.”

Never was a truer statement made at the Pan Pacs open water.

Paulo Strehlke Delgado (20, Mexico World Aquatics bio here) was right on the feet of his German rival, nearly throughout the race – unless he was pushed out of position by the others vying for position behind front-leading Wellbrock. The lead pack of Dario Verani, Joshua Brown, Ivan Puskovitch, Joey Tepper, Victor Moreno, Dylan Gravley, and Nicholas Sloman was constantly jostling for position around the six-loop flat-water course.

The pack was tightly bunched and no one wanted to give up their position between Wellbrock. There was an occasional push, but Wellbrock remained the alpha in the pack and kept everyone else at bay.

Down the stretch only Strehlke was within striking distance, but it was always clear on the last lap that Wellbrock retained masterful control of his pace and the entire race.

2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships – 10 km Men’s Results

1. Florian Wellbrock, Germany 1:49.51
2. Paulo Strehlke Delgado, Mexico 1:49.58
3. Dario Verani, Italy 1:50.01
4. Joshua Brown, USA 1:50.05
5. Ivan Puskovitch, USA 1:50.06
6. Joey Tepper, USA 1:50.06
7. Victor Moreno, Brazil 1:50.08
8. Dylan Gravley, USA 1:50.09
9. Nicholas Sloman, Australia 1:50.10
10. Kaito Tsujimori, Japan 1:50.10
11. Matheus Mellechi, Brazil 1:50.11
12. Pasquale Angelo Giordano, Italy 1:51.33
13. Kaito Tabuchi, Japan 1:52.33
14. Euan Liney, Australia 1:52.36
15. Riku Ezawa, Japan 1:53.06
16. Taishin Minamide, Japan 1:54.38
17. Diego Obele Cisneros, Mexico 1:55.05
18. Connor Albertyn, South Africa 1:55.28
19. Henre Louw, South Africa 1:56.18
20. Roberto Valdes Ochoa, Mexico 1:56.19
21. Byron Kimber, South Africa 1:56.48
22. Sven van der Linde, South Africa 1:59.09
23. Colton Chaires, Canada 2:07.51
24. Percy Escobar Coppa, Bolivia 2:08.40
25. Sebastian Paulins, Canada DNF

© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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