Pallister stuns Ledecky in 800m free at Pan Pacifics
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Lani Pallister beat Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle final, touching in 8:06.10 to erase Ledecky's 2018 championship record — Ledecky's first international 800m free defeat since 2010, with her only prior loss in any 800m final coming against Summer McIntosh at a February 2024 domestic meet.
- Kate Douglass broke her own 50m freestyle world record twice on Saturday, clocking 23.49 in prelims to take the mark from Gretchen Walsh and then 23.19 to win the final — the third time she has lowered the sprint standard since June 19.
- Douglass added a second-place finish in the 200m breaststroke (2:22.57), rallying from third but unable to catch Canada's Alexanne Lepage, who led wire-to-wire to win in a lifetime-best 2:21.73.
- Sam Short of Australia completed a 400-800-1500m sweep with a 1,500 free win in 14:33.97 — the sixth-fastest in history and a championship record that erased Grant Hackett's 24-year-old mark.
- Yu Yiting of China held off world record-holder Summer McIntosh to win the 200m IM in 2:07.45, reclaiming the lead on the breaststroke after Regan Smith briefly passed her on the backstroke.
- Summer McIntosh called the meet "a lot of reflection" material after her only individual victory came in the 400 IM; she failed to qualify for the 400 free A final and was touched out for silver in both the 200 free and 200 IM.
- The U.S. swept both 4x100 medley relays in championship records — the women in 3:50.43 behind Douglass's anchor leg, and the men in 3:29.06 anchored by Jack Alexy.
Why it matters: Pallister's win is just the second 800m freestyle defeat Ledecky has suffered in any final since 2010, ending an international winning streak in her signature event. Douglass's third 50m free world record of the summer cements her as the sprint's new standard-bearer after she skipped the event entirely at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Ask SkimNews
