{"id":647199,"date":"2026-07-24T11:51:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T18:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=647199"},"modified":"2026-07-24T13:22:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:22:02","slug":"commonwealth-games-day-one-finals-womens-400-freestyle-lani-pallister-kick-starts-australian-campaign-with-a-golden-glow-in-glasgow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/commonwealth-games-day-one-finals-womens-400-freestyle-lani-pallister-kick-starts-australian-campaign-with-a-golden-glow-in-glasgow\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonwealth Games, Day One Finals, Women’s 400 Freestyle: Lani Pallister Kickstarts Australian Campaign With A Golden Glow In Glasgow"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Commonwealth Games, Day One Finals, Women’s 400 Freestyle: Lani Pallister Kick Starts Australian Campaign With A Golden Glow In Glasgow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Australian swimming’s next middle distance star Lani Pallister<\/strong> has kicked-started Australia\u2019s Commonwealth Games campaign in the pool in Glasgow with a spectacular all-the-way win the women\u2019s 400m freestyle at the Tollcross International Aquatic Centre.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The 24-year-old from Queensland was in front from the outset and was never headed, winning her first Commonwealth Games gold in 3:59.56 (27.33, 56.93, 1:57.50, 2:59.02) with New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather<\/strong> taking silver in 4:02.65, with Pallister’s Brisbane-based training partner Jenna Forrester<\/strong> winning bronze in 4:05.25. Forrester later claiming her own Games gold, storming home to take out the 200m backstroke in a remarkable turn around – in a two second personal best time of 2:08.17 – racing to the start after collecting her 400m freestyle bronze.<\/p>\n

And in what was a complete Trans Tasman finish, Amelia Weber <\/strong>who also trains alongside Pallister finished fourth in her Games debut in 4:08.70 – all three Australian girls swimming under super-coach Dean Boxall at St Peters Western in Brisbane.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It was an exceptional world class swim from Pallister, swimming just outside her best of 3:58.87, who lifted to another gear through the 300m mark to swim away from the field to win her first Games gold in a true Trans Tasman battle.<\/p>\n

Pallister started to make her move through the 300m mark and extended her leave on the seventh lap, swimming away from the field.<\/p>\n

Kiwi Fairweather went with the Australian \u00a0through the first 200m but it was all Pallister in the back end of the race.<\/p>\n

Saying after the race: \u201cIt\u2019s awesome to get a win for Australia on the board, and the first [swim] event of the Games, it\u2019s always one to set the tone, so happy I could do that for the whole team.”<\/p>\n

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Female Breakout Swimmer of the Year: Lani Pallister Proved She Can Contend with the Big Guns<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n