World Championships: Overlookable No More, Lani Pallister Completes Stellar Worlds with Silver
Every race touted as the Race of the Insert-Time-Period-Here needs that little extra to take it over the top.
It’s the Grant Hackett factor in the 2004 men’s 200 freestyle. It’s the continental record holders in the women’s 400 freestyle in Paris.
And Saturday in Singapore, in the rare race that exceeded its exuberant billing, Lani Pallister delivered on all the hopes.
Lani Pallister, Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh on the 800 free podium; Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron
Pallister has been fantastic at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. A swimmer who doesn’t get the shine she deserves given the constellation of Aussie freestyle stars in more fashionable distances, Pallister has shown herself an international contender, punctuated by a silver medal in the 800 freestyle, an Oceania record and pushing Katie Ledecky for all she was worth in one of the most engrossing races of the meet.
Saturday’s 800 free on the penultimate day of the World Championships was billed as a titanic clash between Ledecky and Summer McIntosh. Ledecky had just set the world record in May, lowering her mark from the Rio Olympics after nearly nine years. McIntosh followed her by buzzing within a second of it to set the third-fastest time in history.
Even with those lofty expectations, Saturday’s final delivered, if not on the strict Ledecky-McIntosh duopoly. Instead Pallister, the arm-driven distance monster, pushed Ledecky until the very last stroke.
Ledecky got to the wall first, as she has done unerringly at the last seven World Championships, in 8:05.62, downing her meet record from a decade ago in Kazan and the No. 4 performance of all-time. (Ever perspicacious, Ledecky on the hype: “I think I’ve been a part of a ‘race of the century’ maybe six times in the last decade.”) But there was Pallister in second in 8:05.98, pushing Ledecky to the last meter with the No. 6 swim in history.
“This is probably the first major meet that I’ve made it through the week without getting sick or having to pull from any event,” Pallister said. “So, that’s a huge win. I didn’t think I’d crack 8:08 this week. My goal was just to be under 8:10, so being in 8:05 is insane. …
“I’m just really thrilled. It was a lot of fun and when I was almost at 400 meters, I wondered who was going to make it between Summer and Katie. It was just a really wicked back-end, and I’m stoked about how I put it all together.”
Pallister animated a classic race as much as McIntosh, who faded – if we can call an 8:07.29 fading – to third. The sync between the three stars in from the 400-meter mark to 700 meters defies description:
- 9th 50: Ledecky 30.43, Pallister 30.55, McIntosh 30.52
- 10th 50: Ledecky 31.03, Pallister 30.98, McIntosh 30.90
- 11th 50: Ledecky 30.66, Pallister 30.62, McIntosh 30.58
- 12th 50: Ledecky 31.03, Pallister 31.04, McIntosh 31.01
- 13th 50: Ledecky 30.64, Pallister 30.51, McIntosh 30.68
“I didn’t really feel like I was in it,” Pallister said. “I feel like I was kind of just watching them to go about their business, and I was kind of just on the side thinking, ‘Oh, who’s going to win?’ But I’m really happy with how I put it together. This is such a big week.”
Ledecky touched first at every wall save for the 700, when McIntosh dug deep to split 30.69. It looked like she might power over top. But Ledecky responded with a 30.24. Pallister’s 15th 50 was the slowest of the lead three, but she summoned the fastest last 50 in 29.11 to put away McIntosh and nearly reel in Ledecky. Were it a mere mortal she was chasing, she just might have.
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Pallister, the Sydney native who has moved her training base to work with Ariarne Titmus and coach Dean Boxall, saw the impact on the final stretch.
“I promised Dean that I’d kick on the back 50, so when I turned with them, knowing what Summer and Katie both have, I knew it would be relatively close,” she said. “… It is actually just like a really fun race to be a part of.”
The silver medal is deserved recompense for Pallister’s outstanding meet. She was fourth in the 400 free in 3:58.87, missing a podium that included McIntosh, Li Bingjie’s Asian record and Ledecky. Pallister’s time made her the fifth-fastest performer all-time. She earned bronze in the 1,500 and gold in the Aussies’ untouchable 800 free relay. It capped a season in which she joined the sub-4:00 club in the 400 free and moved to the third-fastest performer in the 1,500 free.
Lani Pallister; Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron
Now she’s got silver in the race of the championships for her sixth Worlds medal, plus relay gold at the Olympics last year. Pallister had the bad luck of a COVID-19 case that kept her out of the 1,500 in Paris, and she finished sixth in the 800.
“What she’s done this year has been incredible,” Ledecky said. “And really, all of distance swimming. It’s like one of us would do a fast time, and then the next month, someone else would pop a fast time. And it definitely pushes you, definitely keeps you on your toes. And for Lani, that’s incredible. Moving forward, it’s going to be an amazing few years. Can’t wait to see what she can do. Can’t wait to see what Ariarne can do. You guys are probably going to be training together, so that’s pretty cool.
“And I think there’s just a high level of respect that we all have for each other, the Australian team, the USA team. We have a lot of swimmers in the same events at the top level. It brings the best out of each other. It keeps us all on our toes. And that’s what you want. That’s what you want for the sport.”
Pallister has been overshadowed by the brilliance of this generation of Australian women. The 23-year-old has played second string to Titmus, the former world record holder in the 400. Mollie O’Callaghan is an 11-time Worlds gold medalist. Kaylee McKeown is merely the most accomplished female backstroker in history. The Aussies have an oceanic trench’s worth of freestyle sprint depth that hasn’t missed either Emma McKeon nor any of the Campbell sisters. (At six major meets from the Tokyo Olympics to these Worlds, the Aussie women have eight golds, two silvers and two bronze in 12 freestyle relays.)
Lani Pallister firmly belongs in that conversation. And the next time the hype machine (sheepishly raises hand and accepts blame) touts out a race of the century, Pallister won’t be scenery. She’ll be a prime reason.
“I remember in Fukuoka, they said the 400 meters was going to be the race of the century, and I actually finished 10 seconds behind (Ari), and I remember that so vividly,” Pallister said. “So to actually be on the podium for this one is pretty cool.”
