Lani Pallister stuns Katie Ledecky with her first international 800 free loss at Pan Pacs

IRVINE: Lani Pallister of Australia stunned Katie Ledecky with her first international loss in the 800-meter freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships on Saturday night.
Pallister was under world-record pace for much of the race and touched in 8 minutes, 6.10 seconds to erase Ledecky’s championship record from 2018.
Ledecky took silver in 8:07.26. She is the four-time Olympic champion in her signature event. The American’s lone previous defeat in an 800 free final since 2010 came in a small domestic meet in February 2024 against Summer McIntosh of Canada.
“Katie’s such a dominant force,” a breathless Pallister said.