As announced by Swimming Canada this past Thursday (July 9), University of Toronto Varsity Blues swimmer Ben Loewen has been selected to Canada's 2026 Pan and Para Pan Pacific Championships team.

Loewen was one of 22 men named to the Pan Pacific Championships roster heading to Irvine, California this August (Aug. 10-15). The selection comes following a highlight performance from Loewen this past week, capturing a national silver medal in the 200m butterfly at the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials. The 2025 OUA Men's Swimmer of the Year has also recently represented Canada at the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games and has already been named to Canada's roster for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland later this month.

Across four seasons with the Varsity Blues, Loewen has helped U of T win four consecutive provincial titles and the U SPORTS national championship in 2024. The OUA all-star and U SPORTS all-Canadian has accrued 19 OUA medals and 12 U SPORTS medals, setting four OUA records and one U SPORTS record.

In addition to Loewen, long-time Varsity Blues lead assistant coach Linda Kiefer will has also been named to the national team staff. Kiefer is set to enter her 37th season with the U of T swimming program this coming fall and has been a consistent presence with the Canadian national teams as Canada's highest-ranked female coach. Kiefer has been part of Canadian staffs for FISU Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and Olympic Games throughout her illustrious career.