Pallister's Pan Pacs Battle Rejoined With Ledecky
“The format is similar to the Olympic program in Irvine, California - this is a dress rehearsal of what we can expect in two years’ time at the LA Olympics. Unlike the Olympics and World Championships, we’re not restricted to just two swimmers advancing to semi-finals or finals" - Rohan Taylor
Lani Pallister will leave the Commonwealth Games next month to get ready for a clash with American Katie Ledecky on distance freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships in California in August a year after this happened:
Craig Lord
Pallister has a busy schedule at both Commonwealth Games and the Pan Pacs, with commitments over distances from 200m to 1500m. Announced on pool deck at the conclusion of six days of racing at the Australian Swimming Trials at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, a team of 60 was announced for Glasgow 2026 Commonwealths, and 44 for the Pan Pacs (see below) :
At the end of trials, the 1500m added to her roster, Pallister, coached by Dean Boxall at St Peters Western, was asked to sum up her campaign. She said:
"Up and down. I wasn't super stoked with my four and eight [400 and 800m], but then coming and going 15:40, I woke up sick, a little bit sick yesterday, so I was kind of just getting in, getting it done, ticking the box. Now that being sick is an excuse, you know, you're only as good as your last race. So to be able to throw down a 15:40 feeling as poor as I do, I'm happy with that."
So close to your Australian record. Does it give you mixed feelings being that close?
"Um, no, not really. I think if I was peaking here, I'd probably be a little bit worried going into Commies and Pan Pacs. I'm just excited to go and semi recover now. I want to blow dry my hair and look half decent for team announcement, but I'll be straight back in the pool on Monday and I'm not too worried about times I've done this week. You know, it's all just part of the process, and I think swimming half decent times, going into the summer that I want to have, I'm happy with the week as a whole."
Have you thought about being the first woman to win a Commonwealth Games 1500m gold medal (the event makes its Games debut in Glasgow)?
"Yes and no. I think, for me, my biggest goal of the year is Pan Pacs. Comm Games and Pan Pacs are slightly different. The legacy with Commies, and the media, and how much attention that Commonwealth Game sports get for the Australian public is really special, but, you know, my two biggest competitors are Katie and Summer, and at this point, I don't think Summer is racing the Comm Games, that’s the rumour. So I'd rather get second in a race that's really tight than win it. Not that I plan on being second at Pan Pacs, but I'm just excited to go and put in the training now for the next couple weeks, but also have it show at Pan Pacs, because I don't think this week, in the 4 and the 8 showed what I'm capable of yet, and I'm okay with that."
The Pan Pacs un folds two years out from LA2028. The team in 2026 is 44-deep...
Swimming Australia Pan Pacs announcement for the Dolphins:
The green and gold runway has hit Route 28.
With the two-year countdown to the LA Games, Swimming Australia tonight announced a 44-strong Pan Pacific Championships team bound for Californian in August. the Dolphins are set to unleash Gen Now and Gen Next this August.
The meet would be used as a strategic opportunity and dress rehearsal ahead of the LA 2028 Olympic Games, in which the Dolphins will be the underdogs in American waters.
Head coach Rohan Taylor said:
“Outside of the Olympics and World Championships, the Pan Pacific Championships are one of the toughest international meets we can expose our athletes to. Especially as for us – this comes on back of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, so it is a terrific test of mental and physical aptitude.
“The format is similar to the Olympic program in Irvine, California - this is a dress rehearsal of what we can expect in two years’ time at the LA Olympics.
“Unlike the Olympics and World Championships, we’re not restricted to just two swimmers advancing to semi-finals or finals – this gives us greater flexibility to provide deeper exposure for new talent like new Dolphins Matt Galea and Molly Walker."
The squad is bookended by 17-year-old Sienna Toohey as the youngest and a fully-fit Sam Williamson, the eldest at 28 and perhaps the most grateful having to learn to walk, let alone swim again after a horrific knee injury.
Standout performances at SOPAC that firmed selection this week included:
- Sam Short, who put multiple world records on notice, swept the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m national titles – the first to do so since Grant Hackett in 2005. Short also broke his own 800m free Commonwealth record from 2023 in the process.
- Lani Pallister climbed the world rankings when she contested everything from the 100m to 1500m freestyle. Pallister claimed the 400m, 800m and 1500m national title and broke the 1:54 barrier in the 200m free to win silver behind Mollie O’Callaghan – the pair now boast the top two fastest times in the world this season.
- An unwell but relentless Kaylee McKeown claimed the backstroke trifecta of 50m, 100m and 200m. Hot on her tail throughout the meet was Iona Anderson who piped McKeown for lane four in the 100m backstroke final and set a PB in the 200m backstroke, winning silver in both behind the G.O.A.T.
The Dolphins Team:
Iona Anderson
Hannah Casey
Brittany Castelluzzo
Jacqueline Davison-McGovern
Lizzy Dekkers
Jenna Forrester
Hannah Fredericks
Meg Harris
Milla Jansen
(Moesha Johnson OW)
Tara Kinder
(Tiana Kritzinger OW)
Kaylee McKeown
Inez Miller
Mollie O'Callaghan
Lani Pallister
Alexandria Perkins
Ella Ramsay
Sienna Toohey
Molly Walker
Amelia Weber
Olivia Wunsch
Ben Armbruster
Isaac Cooper
Matt Galea
Max Giuliani
Ben Goedemans
Charlie Hawke
Jamie Jack
Se-Bom Lee
Bailey Lello
Euan Liney
William Petric
Sam Short
Nick Sloman
Brendon Smith
Ed Sommerville
Zac Stubblety-Cook
Stuart Swinburn
Kai Taylor
Harrison Turner
Sam Williamson
Elijah Winnington
