Female Breakout Swimmer of the Year: Lani Pallister Proved She Can Contend with the Big Guns
During the early stages of the year, Lani Pallister made a major move in her career. Although established as one of the world’s premier distance freestylers, the Australian was determined to maximize her potential. Consequently, she shifted her training base from Griffith University to St. Peters Western, headed by Dean Boxall.
The decision has lifted Pallister to superstar status.
Throughout the campaign, the 23-year-old Pallister routinely delivered speedy performances from the 200 freestyle through the 1500 freestyle. And at the World Championships in Singapore, she demonstrated the ability – physically and mentally – to challenge the premier names in the sport.
At Worlds, Pallister packaged a complete competition. While she just missed a medal with a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle, she set a personal best with a time of 3:58.87. Meanwhile, she was the bronze medalist in the 1500 freestyle (15:41.18) and led off Australia’s gold-medal 800 freestyle relay with a mark of 1:54.77.
It was the 800 freestyle, however, where Pallister enjoyed a significant breakthrough. In a race that was tabbed as a two-woman battle between American Katie Ledecky and Canadian Summer McIntosh, Pallister produced the finest swim of her career. An outing of 8:05.98 handed the Aussie the silver medal, her performance just shy of the 8:05.62 of Ledecky. More, she pulled away from McIntosh in the closing laps.
For her efforts, Pallister has been named Swimming World’s Female Breakout Swimmer of the Year. She earned the nod over Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk, a multi-event standout who medaled twice at the World Champs. Also in contention was 13-year-old Yu Zidi, who set an Asian record in the 200 individual medley at the Chinese National Games and was the fourth-place finisher at Worlds in three events, despite being only 12 years old at the time.
It might seem unusual to name an athlete of Pallister’s level as the Breakout Swimmer of the Year, but nuance is needed when determining these awards. Compare her standing at the end of 2024 to where she ranks on the cusp of 2026, and Pallister neatly – and deservingly – fits the definition of a breakout performer.
Boxall is revered as one of the sport’s top coaches, having molded the likes of Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan into Olympic champions. In Pallister, he has tapped into the Aussie’s considerable potential, turning his pupil into an Olympic-title contender on the road to 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Following her impressive performances at the World Championships, Pallister took part in the World Cup tour of North America. She capped her run in the circuit by crushing Ledecky’s world record in the short-course version of the 800 freestyle. Pallister clocked 7:54.00 for her world record, more than three seconds faster than Ledecky’s previous mark of 7:57.42.
“It’s kind of weird. I never thought I’d individually have a world record,” Pallister said at the World Cup. “I guess short course is the first step to the goals that I have for the future.”
