Australian swimmer Lani Pallister ended Katie Ledecky’s impressive streak in the 800m freestyle at a major competition. Until this event, Ledecky had not lost in this race at international championships since 2012. Pallister’s time at the Pan Pacific Championships was 8 minutes, 6.10 seconds, surpassing Ledecky by 1.16 seconds in Irvine, California. Starting strong, Pallister maintained her lead throughout the race.
Despite a late challenge from Ledecky — who closed the gap by seven-tenths of a second between the 700m and 750m marks — Pallister held on for the victory. Reflecting on her performance, Pallister remarked on the pressure she felt as Ledecky closed in but managed to hold her ground.
Ledecky acknowledged her performance, stating it was her best swim of the meet and expressed satisfaction despite finishing second.
Pallister, reflecting on the significance of the moment, credited Ledecky for fostering the growth of women’s distance swimming. “Without her, we wouldn’t have women’s distance swimming in the place where it is at the moment,” she said.
Pallister, 24, recalled saving Ledecky’s autograph from 2014. Before this competition, she narrowly lost to Ledecky by 36 hundredths in the closest 800m free of Ledecky’s career at the 2025 Worlds. At the same Pan Pacs, Pallister was 2.53 seconds behind Ledecky in the 1500m free — the smallest margin in 13 years.
Katie Ledecky, a dominant force in the pool, has four Olympic gold medals in the 800m, with seven world titles and two Pan Pacific titles to her name. The Pan Pacific Championships, a key event for U.S. and Australian swimmers in 2026, marks Pallister’s first win over Ledecky in any distance event.
Ledecky’s only previous defeat in the 800m free over the past 16 years was to Canada’s Summer McIntosh in early 2024. Looking ahead, the 2028 Olympics will present an opportunity for Ledecky to make history in the 800m free event.
In other events at the Pan Pacific Championships, Kate Douglass excelled by setting new records in the 50m freestyle during both preliminaries and finals. She also contributed to the U.S. women’s 4x100m medley relay gold while claiming silver in the 200m breaststroke.
Additionally, China’s Yu Yiting upset Summer McIntosh in the 200m individual medley, setting a Championship Record with a time of 2:07.45. On the men’s side, Australia’s Sam Short completed a sweep of the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle events. He achieved a Championship Record time of 14:33.97 in the 1500m free.
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