Lani Pallister takes down Katie Ledecky for second straight night at Pan Pacs

IRVINE, Calif. — Australian Lani Pallister beat Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle final Saturday at the Pan Pacific Championships, handing the nine-time Olympic gold medalist her first loss in the event at an international meet. Pallister touched the wall in 8 minutes, 6.1 seconds, with Ledecky second behind her.

Pallister’s win came one night after she beat Ledecky in the 400, and three nights after she finished second to the American in the 1,500. The two dueled for the 800 gold at the world championships last summer, too, with Ledecky winning by only 0.36 seconds. The race put the world on notice that Pallister was coming, and she managed to overtake Ledecky by 1.16 seconds Saturday night to close out Pan Pacs.

“Today’s the most nervous I’ve ever felt in my entire life,” the 24-year-old Pallister said, noting she cares about the 800 — the event her mom, Janelle Pallister, swam at the 1988 Olympics — more than any of her other races. “I was warming up, and I had my teammates come and have a little chat with me to see if they could brighten my mood a little bit. I think I was just so locked in, and I’ve been really focused on what I want.”

She was under world-record pace through the first 600 meters but finished 1.98 seconds off Ledecky’s mark from 2025 (8:04.12). She said dipping under that time is “definitely a goal for the next two years.”

Ledecky won 800 free gold at every international meet she contested before Saturday: the 2012, 2016, 2020 (held in 2021) and 2024 Olympics; 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2025 world championships; and the 2014 and 2018 Pan Pacific Championships. Canadian Summer McIntosh beat Ledecky in the event in 2024 but not at an international meet. McIntosh was also at Pan Pacs, but she opted to race the 200 individual medley Saturday instead of the 800.

“The time I’m pretty happy with,” Ledecky said. “I wasn’t really thinking too much about my history in the event or anything leading into this. I just wanted to have a good last event here. I’m really proud of the history I have in this event. That doesn’t go anywhere just from getting second.”

When Pallister did her post-race interview over the loudspeakers, she invited the American crowd to cheer for Ledecky because of her contributions to distance swimming. The fans in the stands happily obliged.

Ledecky, Pallister and McIntosh were the highest-profile swimmers at Pan Pacs, which came to a close Saturday night.

Pallister finished the meet with five medals: gold in the 200, 400 and 800 free and the 4×200 free relay, and silver in the 1,500 free. She previously won Olympic gold in the 4×200 free relay in 2024.

“I work for it,” she said. “I’m really proud of myself and the journey I’ve been on to get here.”

Ledecky claimed four medals: gold in the 1,500 free and silver in the 400 and 800 free, as well as the 4×200 free relay.

McIntosh finished the 200 individual medley in 2:07.47, taking silver at the touch to China’s Yu Yiting (2:07.45). She finished the meet with an individual gold in the 400 individual medley and silver in the 200 free to go along with the 200 individual medley. She also took bronze on Canada’s 4×200 freestyle relay team.

In one of the more shocking turns of the meet, McIntosh failed to make the A final Friday in the 400 free, in which she owns the world record. She took her preliminary swim too easily in what she called a miscalculation. Her time in the B final would have earned bronze.

“I actually felt better than my 400s,” she said of her 200 IM, in which she also has the world record (2:05.70). “Felt a bit sprintier tonight. Still off my PB, but it wasn’t a horrible swim. Getting touched out is something that is never a good thing to feel, but I’m still happy with how I raced tonight. I definitely felt better in the water than I had the other days.”

McIntosh, who turns 20 on Tuesday, has four world records, including one in the 200 butterfly earlier this summer at the Canadian Trials, an event she later withdrew from due to illness. With only one individual win, the Pan Pacs was off her standard.

“I’ll definitely be talking to (coaches) Bob (Bowman) and Erik (Posegay) a lot and seeing, ‘How can I adjust my taper and my training and my focuses throughout the year?’” McIntosh said. “We put in a lot of work, so I know that’ll pay off, but maybe it’s just more the last weeks of preparation, leading up after Trials. And getting sick and all that stuff can get a bit messy. I’ll definitely be thinking about that moving forward.”