Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Australian Lani Pallister dealt US great Katie Ledecky her first 800m freestyle defeat in a major international meet on Saturday, beating her one-time idol at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California. Pallister led wire-to-wire on the way to victory in 8min 06.10sec, and for the first time ever in the event, Ledecky’s late charge wasn’t enough, finishing second in 8:07.26.
Ledecky has dominated the 800m since she won Olympic gold in 2012 as a 15-year-old, winning 13 international golds since then. That includes four Olympic medals and seven world titles in the event. Canadian Summer McIntosh did beat Ledecky once in the 800m free in that span, at a sectional meet in Florida in February 2024.
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World record-holder Ledecky maintained her hold on the event with a razor-thin victory over Pallister in a World Championships thriller last year in Singapore, where Ledecky stated her rule for herself as younger swimmers began closing in was, “I don’t lose 800s.” Pallister, who claimed her first career win over Ledecky in the 400m free earlier this week before finishing second behind her in the 1,500m, showed that this rule can be broken as the 29-year-old American looks toward adding to her collection of nine Olympic gold medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The Australian punched the water in delight and received a hug over the lane rope from Ledecky. She paid tribute to the American in a post-race interview, saying, “Katie is such a dominant force, and I think it’s really important we give her a big round of a hand. Without her, we wouldn’t have women’s distance swimming in the place we’re at at the moment. To be part of that story at the moment (it’s) pretty much all because we get to chase Katie.”
© 2024 AFP
