Lani Pallister wins 400m freestyle final in Irvine, California; 3:58.42, fastest in world this year

Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026: Lani Pallister holds off Katie Ledecky to win 400m freestyle final

The Australian led from the start to claim her third gold and fourth medal in Irvine, California. World recorder holder and four time Olympic medallist Summer McIntosh failed to make the final.

The women’s 400 freestyle was one of the most anticipated events at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026 .

Fans were expecting a showdown between Australia’s Lani Pallister , freestyle queen Katie Ledecky of the US, and Canadian star - and world record holder - Summer McIntosh .

But McIntosh failed to make Friday’s (14 August) final. The four time Olympic gold medallist took her preliminary heat too easy and failed to progress.

So the event came down to two swimmers who had previously met in the 1500 free on day one, with Ledecky winning that event by two seconds.

Pallister however claimed victory in the 200 free before leading Australia to gold in the 800 free relay.

When it came to the 400, the 24-year-old Australian decided to lead from the start, leaving Ledecky to chase her, and it was a strategy that paid off.

Pallister blasted under world-record pace from the beginning. After 50 metres she was up more than a second on her US rival, and after three lengths had created a two second gap. By the midway point the Australian was 2.48 seconds ahead. Ledecky tried to make ground, but in the final stretch Pallister surged ahead to finish in 3:58.42 for the fastest time in the world this year.

She also knocked almost half a second off her previous best of 3:58.87 set at last year’s World Championships.

Ledecky was left to settle for second in 4:00.15, her third medal of the meet after winning gold in the 1500 and taking silver with the American team in the 800 free relay.

The time was well short of her best time this year, a 3:59.02 from April.

Bronze went to Erika Fairweather of New Zealand in 4:02.35.

Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026: Full schedule and all results

Ledecky wins gold in 800 metres freestyle final | Olympic Games Paris 2024

Picture by 2026 Getty Images