Pan Pacific Championships Swimming
From left, silver medalist Katie Ledecky, of the United States, gold medalist Lani Pallister, of Australia, and bronze medalist Erika Fairweather, of New Zealand celebrate after the the women's 400 meters freestyle final at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Friday, Aug. 14, 2026 in Irvine, Calif.
As featured on
Lani Pallister of Australia has stunned Katie Ledecky with her first international 800-meter freestyle loss at the Pan Pacific Championships. Pallister was under world-record pace for much of the race and finished in 8 minutes, 6.10 seconds. She erased Ledecky's championship record from 2018. Ledecky took silver in 8:07.26. She is the four-time Olympic champion in her signature event. The American's only previous defeat in an 800 free final since 2010 came in a small domestic meet in February 2024 against Summer McIntosh of Canada.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.