Kate Douglass, of the United States, smiles after winning the women's 50 meters freestyle final with a new world record at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026 in Irvine, Calif.
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.