Distance Diva Lani Pallister Chasing A World Short Course Three Peat In The 800m Freestyle
Lani Pallister will have a special three-peat on her mind when she lines up in five events at the 2026 Australian Short Course Championships in Sydney, starting tomorrow.
All eyes will be on the 24-year-old five-time World Short Course gold medallist – touted as “the next big thing” in women’s distance swimming when she takes to the water over the four-day meet at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Pool, which will double as the Trials for December’s World Short Course Championships in Beijing.
Pallister (St Peters Western, QLD) will join fellow 2026 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pac star Sam Short along with Flynn Southam, Elijah Winnington and Alex Perkins as the headline acts in the absence of a host of the Dolphins missing from this year’s fields.
This year’s dominant distance star, is the reigning world record holder over 800m freestyle short course – and the winner of the last two 800m freestyle World Short Course championships in Melbourne in 2022 and Budapest in 2024 – the girl who ended the legendary Katie Ledecky’s 14-year winning reign over 800m at this year’s Pan Pacs.
And she is an established short course demon – having smashed Ledecky’s 800m freestyle short course world mark at last year’s World Cup in Toronto, taking down the American’s 2022 mark.
In typical Lani fashion, she was under Ledecky’s world record pace from the opening 25m – maintaining it through the backend with incredible power and form.
Spurred on by the vocal Canadian crowd, Pallister didn’t let up for 32 laps, splitting 27:14; 56.27; 1:55.18; 3;54.16; 4;54.23; 5;54.35 and 6:54.86 – unleashing a powerhouse display of even splitting through the final 400m – coming home in 3:59.84.
Victory in Beijing would see her become only the second women in the history of the World Short Course Championships – which started in Palma de Mallorca in 1993 to win three consecutive 800m freestyle titles.
Joining China’s two-time Olympian Chen Hua who won three straight in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
And only Costa Rican legend Claudia Poll has won multiple 400m short course crowns in 1995 and 1997 – Pallister, who won four gold in 2022 in the 400, 800, 1500m and 4x200m relay – could also match her back-to-back 400s.
Pallister will start her Sydney campaign on day one with the 200m freestyle heats and final and the 800m freestyle timed final, followed by the 100m freestyle heats and final on day two and the timed finals of the 400m on day three and the 1500m on day four.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s expectations on times this week … I want to qualify for the events that are a staple of my program, and I think the biggest goal for me this year is going back to a world championship and defending my title in the 800m (freestyle),” said Pallister.
“I’d won it my first year in 2022 and then backed up in 2024, so, to have the opportunity to go three would be absolutely unbelievable.”
The girl who cut her teeth in surf and open water swimming in Australia – also hinting at today’s pre-event press conference that World Championship and Olympic open water swimming is not out of the question for the accomplished surf lifesaver.
The record-breaking Pier To Pub (open water swim) winner and Australian Open Women’s surf race champion said she would love to be part of the (4x1500m) relay, declaring: “I think that would be incredibly special to be able to go from the open water relay to the pool.
“I’ve thought about going and participating in January over in Western Australia at the 2027 Australian Open Water Nationals….no chance of doing the 10km … but doing some other events like the 5km, the (3km) knockout and the relay.”
Short (Rackley) has been unbeatable throughout 2026 and has declared he wants IN for this year’s World Short Course Championships and will swim the 200, 400, 800 and 1500m in Sydney as he looks to make his first World Short Course Team.
The 23-year-old Short will face some tough opposition – against Commonwealth Games 100m freestyle champion Flynn Southam (Bond) and Ed Sommerville (Brisbane Grammar) in the 200 and Dolphins team-mate Elijah Winnington(Somerville House Aquatic) over 400m and 800m.
The 200m and the 1500m on the opening night, followed by the 400m on night three and the 800m on the fourth and final night.
Southam saying: “The 100m freestyle in Australia at the moment is the best it’s ever been, and internationally it’s the best it’s ever been. The bar’s getting set higher each year, so I want to be a part of that and I want to win that.”
When asked where the 200m freestyle event sat for him, Southam said: “I still have a lot of unfinished business with the 200m, especially long course 200m as well.
“But the goal at the moment is to get an unbelievably fast 50m in the 100m freestyle and take that to the international competition.”
Winnington, the defending world short course 400m freestyle champion from 2024 in Budapest, has swapped programs and coaches – from Dean Boxall at St Peters to Tim Lane at Somerville House Aquatic.
“I have just started with Tim (Lane) but we’ve had a few chats and are confident we can change middle distance swimming the way Cam (McEvoy) has done with the sprints,” said Winnington.
“It’s a leap of courage and it all starts here (in Sydney) this week – we are two years out from LA but in a way, this four-day meet is really the start of my 2028 campaign. And I can’t wait.
“We’ve been talking about developing something new, like he did with the 50m (freestyle) for middle distance swimming, and we’ve been back and forth for the past few years really chatting things through, and it came time at the end of this year … with two years to go (until LA 2028).
“I have big goals coming into LA, and I knew I wasn’t going to achieve them if I just stayed doing what I was doing. So, I made the move, and Tim, Cam, and I really are developing something really, really special, and something that I know that hasn’t been done before in the business ever. So, it’s going to be really special.”