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 in Irvine, Calif.

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, marking a rare defeat for 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 after the race.