Katie Ledecky rose to the challenge, as the US swimmer defended her 1,500-meter freestyle crown by a tight margin at yesterday’s Pan Pacific Championships.
Ledecky topped the podium with a time of 15 minutes, 36.09 seconds, edging out Australia’s Lani Pallister by just 2.53 seconds — her narrowest 1,500-meter major tournament win in 13 years.
“Even with a swim I’m not super happy with, it’s just so much fun to be in this environment and get to experience this,” she said afterwards.
Heading into the 2028 Olympics, Ledecky holds the 13 fastest 1,500-meter times on record, with similar dominance in the 800-meter freestyle.
Pallister will attempt to change that on Saturday, after finishing just .36 seconds behind Ledecky in the 2025 Worlds’ 800-meter race.
Pan Pacific Championships coverage runs through Saturday (Peacock).
