Australian swimmer Lani Pallister defeated US great Katie Ledecky in the women’s 800m freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, clocking 8:06.10 on August 16, 2026. The victory snapped Ledecky’s streak in the 800m event on the world stage.
Lani Pallister Breaks Katie Ledecky’s Streak in Irvine
Australian distance swimmer Lani Pallister cemented her place in history on August 16, 2026, by defeating American legend Katie Ledecky in the women’s 800m freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California. Pallister touched the wall in 8:06.10, leading wire-to-wire on the way to victory.
Ledecky’s late charge fell short as she finished second in 8:07.26. The defeat marks Ledecky’s first 800m freestyle defeat in a major international meet since she won Olympic gold as a 15-year-old in 2012, a span that included four Olympic medals and seven world titles in the event. Canadian Summer McIntosh previously beat Ledecky in the 800m free at a sectional meet in Florida in February 2024, but Pallister’s performance at the RFI handed the American her first major international defeat in the event.
“Katie is such a dominant force and I think it’s really important we give her a big round of a hand. Without her, we wouldn’t have women’s distance swimming in the place where it is at the moment. And to be part of that at the moment, (it’s) pretty much all because we get to chase Katie.”
Lani Pallister, via Nine.com.au
The two swimmers embraced over the lane rope after the historic race. Pallister finished her week in Irvine with gold in the 200, 400 and 800m free and the 4x200m free relay. Ledecky, now 29 years old, looks toward adding to her collection of nine Olympic gold medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Sam Short Breaks Grant Hackett’s Historic Australian Record in the 1,500m Freestyle
Sam Short added the 1,500m freestyle gold to his 400m and 800m gold, completing a trifecta he previously achieved at the Commonwealth Games. Short clocked an Australian record of 14:33.97, breaking Grant Hackett’s Australian record of 14:34.56 set at the 2001 World Championships—a mark established before the young Australian was even born.
“I wanted to be within 10 seconds of that world record otherwise, what’s the point of diving in? So, really happy I got there and I beat my hero’s Australian record and that’s older than me. I love the pressure. It’s why I do it… I was glad I got to perform with one of my childhood heroes in the stands, Thorpie, so hopefully I impressed him.”
Sam Short, via Nine.com.au
Short finished 8.62 seconds ahead of Japan’s Kazushi Imafuku, while American Bobby Finke took third in 14:44.26. Short noted that his swim was inspired by the world record of 14:26.79 set by Germany’s Johannes Liebmann at the European Championships in Paris on Saturday.
Kate Douglass Slices World Records as Australian Swimmers Claim Gold in Irvine
American Kate Douglass rewrote the record books on the final day of the meeting, breaking the 50m freestyle world record twice. Douglass won the final in 23.19 seconds, slicing three-tenths of a second off the record of 23.49 seconds she had set hours earlier. Gretchen Walsh had previously set a world record of 23.55 on June 28 in Rome, following the world mark Douglass had set on June 19.
Australia continued its strong meet across multiple events. Jamie Jack posted a championship-best time of 21.35 seconds to win the men’s 50m freestyle. Zac Stubblety-Cook rallied from fourth place at the final turn to capture gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:08.09. In the pool relays, the United States teams claimed victory in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m medley events with championship record times, leaving Australia with the silver medals.
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