Lani Pallister ends Katie Ledecky’s 800m freestyle crown at Pan Pacific Championships 2026, California; first 800m defeat in a major international meet
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026: Lani Pallister ends Katie Ledecky’s winning streak to claim 800m freestyle crown
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026: Lani Pallister ends Katie Ledecky’s winning streak to claim 800m freestyle crown
The Australian set a new championship record time of 8:06.10 in California to end Ledecky’s domination of the distance since London 2012 with 13 international 800m gold medals.
US freestyle queen Katie Ledecky has dominated the 800m freestyle since she won Olympic gold at London 2012 as a 15-year-old.
She has gone on to win 13 international 800m golds since then - including four Olympic medals and seven world titles in the event - and was looking to add to that at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026 on Saturday (15 August) .
Australia’s Lani Pallister had other ideas however.
The two swimmers had met on day one, with Ledecky winning the 1500m free by two seconds.
But Pallister replied by taking the 400m freestyle title on Friday, leading from the start to finish ahead of the US great in 3:58.42, for the fastest time in the world this year.
And it was to be the same in Saturday’s 800m final.
The Australian led wire-to-wire on the way to an incredible victory in 8 minutes, 06.10 seconds.
For the first time ever in the event, Ledecky’s late charge wasn’t enough and she finished second in 8:07.26 - her first 800m freestyle defeat in a major international meet.
Pallister paid tribute to the American in a post-race interview, reported in the Guardian.
“Katie is such a dominant force and I think it’s really important we give her a big round of a hand,” she said.
“Without her, we wouldn’t have women’s distance swimming in the place we’re at at the moment.
“To be part of that story at the moment [it’s] pretty much all because we get to chase Katie.”
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026: Full schedule and all results
Ledecky becomes youngest 800m Freestyle champion | London 2012 Replays
Fifteen-year-old American Katie Ledecky wins the women’s 800m freestyle, becoming the youngest ever to win the event.
Picture by Sean M. Haffey