Ledecky told a 14-year-old Lani Pallister to ‘dream big’. She just beat her for the first time

Irvine, California: When Lani Pallister was 14, she asked the soon-to-be greatest female swimmer in history, Katie Ledecky, for an autograph.

“Dream big,” Ledecky wrote to Pallister, a budding swimmer who liked butterfly more than the freestyle stroke in which she would later excel.

When Sam Short was growing up, dreaming of becoming an Olympian, he would watch videos of Ian Thorpe races on YouTube, obsessing over the Australian legend’s feats.

On a warm Friday evening at the Pan Pacific Championships in California, Pallister and Short beat their idols – one in the pool and the other on the clock – in the 400m freestyle.

Pallister (3 minutes, 58.42 seconds) went out hard and held on for a stunning victory over Ledecky by 1.73 seconds – her first win over the nine-time Olympic gold medallist in any race – before Short took a similarly bold approach, flirting with the world record line as he broke Thorpe’s Pan Pacs record of 3:41.83, set as a 16-year-old in 1999.

Short’s time of 3:40.52, ahead of China’s Zhang Zhanshuo in 3:42.42, was a personal best but still outside Thorpe’s Australian record of 3:40.08 and Lukas Martens’ world mark of 3:39.96. He ranked the swim among the best performances of his career but said he had sensed a sub-3:40 time given how much energy he had in the tank with a lap to go, fuelled by an afternoon meal of Chipotle.

“I thought that was the one,” Short said. “I put a gap on a world-class field and had energy to burn at the end. It was a high-pressure situation and I’ve been so consistent this year, so I can’t complain. I knew unless I really blew up at the 200, I should get the win.”

Short and Pallister had disappointing Olympic campaigns in 2024 but the pair are making a major statement on American soil two years out from the LA Olympics.

They already have two individual gold medals each at these Pan Pacs, with the 1500m freestyle (Short) and 800m freestyle (Pallister) remaining on Saturday (Sunday AEST).

Short had one instruction for Pallister: if you beat Ledecky, get on the lane rope. She did just that.

Ariarne Titmus proved at the 2019 world championships that Ledecky could be beaten in the 400m freestyle and went on to do so repeatedly, but there is a significant psychological barrier that comes with trying to topple a champion of her ilk. Pallister has now cleared it – another significant step in her meteoric rise after a career-defining world championships last year.

Pallister’s new coach Dean Boxall was the one who helped Titmus believe she could beat Ledecky and, with 150 metres to go at the Woollett Aquatics Center, the energetic coach raced down from the back of the grandstand to make his presence felt on pool deck, willing Pallister home with waving arms.

Boxall’s reaction was understated because he knows these are not the Olympics, but Pan Pacs is proving a valuable dress rehearsal for what awaits in Los Angeles.

Pallister is a better chance of gold in the 800m freestyle than the 400m, but her ability to keep finding ways to beat her rivals – including at the recent Commonwealth Games, where she won the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle – is becoming a significant weapon.

“It felt good until it didn’t. It got me on the back end,” Pallister said. “I could see Katie catching me on the last 150 and that’s a very nerve-wracking feeling.

“It’s been an incredible week … it’s just been the most incredible 18 months, really. It’s just given me the confidence to believe in myself and believe that the sky’s the limit and I can do what I want in the sport.

“I think young Lani at 14 wasn’t even seriously thinking about being an Olympic swimmer or being one of the world’s best. Young Lani was still running around the beach doing nippers. The belief in myself is the biggest factor as to why I’m swimming better.”

Pallister’s hopes of securing victory were boosted when world record holder Summer McIntosh missed the final after a disastrous heat swim.

In the biggest shock of the four-day meeting in Irvine, the Canadian superstar could manage only the ninth-fastest time overall.

She then swam the ‘B’ final in 4:00.58 before admitting she had “messed up” her heat.

“That’s been totally on me. I should know better than to mess with that too much,” McIntosh said. “Definitely my lesson’s learned, and it’ll never happen again.”

Australia added four gold medals to its tally on the penultimate day of racing, with Matt Temple (100m butterfly) and Sam Williamson (50m breaststroke) also producing faster times than at the Commonwealth Games.

But it was a gold Australia didn’t win that is cause for some concern. Australia have been synonymous with success in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay but for the first time since 2017, did not take the gold in the event at a major international meeting.

Without Mollie O’Callaghan in the USA, and following the retirements of Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell, Emma McKeon and Shayna Jack since 2024, it is a new era for one of Australian sport’s most successful teams. A blistering opening leg of 51.69s from US star Kate Douglass – just 0.01s off the world record – launched the home team to victory, with Australia finishing 1.79s adrift.

It is new territory for this team, with unofficial leader Meg Harris – who clocked a personal best on the opening leg against Douglass – saying the defeat would serve as motivation over the next two years as Australia tries to make it five Olympic golds in a row in the event.

“This just puts a fire in our belly,” Harris said.

Meanwhile, Australia’s men’s 4x100m freestyle team, without its fastest two swimmers in Flynn Southam and Kyle Chalmers, wasn’t expected to come close to the USA but still claimed silver.

Anchor Harrison Turner’s split of 46.99 seconds won’t mean much to those who don’t follow swimming but take it as a sign that Australia are quietly building towards a genuine shot at winning this relay at LA 2028 for the first time since Sydney 2000.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.