YOKOHAMA -- Sachiko Yamada had the home crowd screaming their lungs out. Same with Ian Thorpe, who proved he was fastest regardless of length.

And, quietly, the Americans continued to dominate the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

"I think we're doing awesome," said Amanda Beard, who won the gold in the women's 200-meter breaststroke in 2 minutes, 26.31 seconds. Of the five finals on Wednesday at the Yokohama pool, the U.S. took four first places to increase its gold medal count to 16.