Lani Pallister Ends Katie Ledecky’s 800m Freestyle Dominance as Kate Douglass Breaks World Record

Australia’s Lani Pallister produced one of the biggest upsets of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, defeating American swimming legend Katie Ledecky in the women’s 800m freestyle in Irvine, California.

Pallister led from start to finish and touched in 8:06.10, setting a new Pan Pacific Championships record. Ledecky finished second in 8:07.26. The result ended Ledecky’s remarkable streak of 13 consecutive international championship gold medals in the 800m freestyle, dating back to the 2012 Olympics.

The victory was particularly significant because Ledecky had dominated the event for more than a decade. She won Olympic gold in the 800m freestyle at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Games, as well as multiple world titles.

Pallister had already beaten Ledecky in the 400m freestyle earlier at the Pan Pacific Championships, making the Australian one of the strongest emerging challengers to Ledecky in distance freestyle.

Kate Douglass Breaks 50m Freestyle World Record Twice

The same night produced another extraordinary performance as American Kate Douglass broke the women’s 50m freestyle world record twice in a single day.

Douglass first lowered the record to 23.49 seconds during the morning heats before going even faster in the final, clocking 23.19 seconds to win gold.

Gretchen Walsh finished second and Australia’s Meg Harris took third.

Douglass’ performance added to an already historic Pan Pacific Championships, where she also contributed to a world-record performance in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.

The results highlight the growing rivalry between the United States and Australia ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with Pallister emerging as a serious threat in the women’s distance freestyle events.