Katie Ledecky’s reign has ended, as Australia’s Lani Pallister upset the US swimming legend in two key freestyle races at the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships.
After narrowly ceding the 1,500-meter freestyle to Ledecky, Pallister won the 400-meter before stealing the 800-meter rubber match to snap the UVA product’s 14-year gold medal run.
“Katie’s such a dominant force,” Pallister said afterward. "Without her, we wouldn’t have women’s distance swimming in the place where it is.”
Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, and Simone Manuel staged an upset of their own, besting Australia in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay for the first time in nine years with a US-record time of 3:29.32.
Douglass also came up big solo, breaking the 50-meter freestyle world record twice in one day, while Gretchen Walsh swept the butterfly sprints.
