| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| National team | Australia |
| Born | (2002-06-06)6 June 2002 (age 23)[3] Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[4] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| Club | St Peters Western[1][2] |
| Coach | Janelle Elford Janelle Pallister[1] Dean Boxall[2] |
Medal record | |
Lani Pallister (born 6 June 2002) is an Australian competitiveswimmer. She is a world record holder in two sports, with aworld record in swimming, theshort course4×200-metre freestyle relay, andworld records in life saving for the youth age group in the 100-metre rescue medley and 200-metre super lifesaver. She holds theOceanian,Commonwealth, andAustralian records in theshort course 1500-metre freestyle and the Australian record in the short course 800-metre freestyle. She is the first femaleWorld Short Course champion in the 1500-metre freestyle, winning the inaugural event for women at the2022 edition. Over the course of the2022 World Short Course Championships, she won the gold medal in each of the four events she contested (three individual events and one relay).
At the2022 World Aquatics Championships, she became the first Australian woman to medal in the1500-metre freestyle at aWorld Aquatics Championships, winning the bronze medal. She is a five-time, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024Pier to Pubopen water swim winner.
Pallister was born on 6 June 2002 inSydney to motherJanelle Pallister, a swimmer at the1988 Summer Olympics and gold medalist at the1990 Commonwealth Games.[3][4][1] She has been coached by her mother since a young age and in 2020 changed swimming clubs toGriffith University where she is coached by both Janelle Pallister andMichael Bohl.[1][2] Her godmother is OlympianDawn Fraser.[5]
In August, 15-year-old Pallister competed at the2017 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, held inIndianapolis,United States, placing eighth in the 1500-metre freestyle with a 16:32.59 and tenth in the 800-metre freestyle with a 8:39.86.[6] She followed up with a first open water title in the annualPier to Pub swim in January 2018 at 15 years of age.[7]
When Pallister was 16 years old, she set a newworld life saving record in the 100-metre rescue medley of 1:12.14 at the 2018 National Pool Championships inAdelaide in August, lowering the previous record by over three tenths of a second.[8]
At the2018 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships inSuva,Fiji in August, Pallister won gold medals in the 1500-metre freestyle, 800-metre freestyle, 400-metre freestyle, as well as silver medals in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay and the 200-metre freestyle.[9] Her time of 16:08.09 in the 1500-metre freestyle set a newChampionships record in the event.[9][10] She also won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, which made her total medal count for the Championships six medals.[3]
Returning to Adelaide following her success at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, Pallister competed at the 2018 World Lifesaving Championships in November, helping team Australia win the world crown at the Championships.[11][12] In the 200-metre super lifesaver event she set a new youth world life saving record in the event at 2:24.19.[11] She also set a new world life saving record in the 100-metre rescue medley at 1:10.21, which was almost two seconds faster than the previous record she set in August.[11][12]
In January 2019, Pallister won her second-consecutive title in the Pier to Pub open water swim inLorne, winning the women's event, a 1.2-kilometre race, in a time of 12:20.[13][7] Two months later, in March at the year'sSurf Life Saving Australia Championships inBurleigh Heads, 16-year-old Pallister narrowly won the national title in the 2-kilometreocean swim ahead of second-place finisherKareena Lee.[14]
| 2019 World Junior Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
 | 800 m freestyle | 8:22.49 (CR) |
| 400 m freestyle | 4:05.42 (CR) |
| 1500 m freestyle | 15:58.86 (CR) |
 | 4×200 m freestyle relay | 7:57.87 |
| 4×100 m freestyle relay | 3:40.85 |
| 200 m freestyle | 1:58.09 |
As a 17-year-old at the2019 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships inBudapest,Hungary in August, Pallister won her first medal, a silver medal, in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay where she split a 1:58.61 for the lead-off leg of the relay, helping achieve a final time of 7:57.87.[15] She won her firstgold medal in the 800-metre freestyle, where she finished first with aChampionships record time of 8:22.49.[16][17] Pallister delivered her second gold medal in Championships record time in the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 4:05.42.[18][19][20] On 24 August, Pallister won the 1500-metre freestyle with a time of 15:58.86, which marked her third gold medal at the Championships, set a new Championships record in the event, and was over 15 seconds faster than the next fastest swimmer in the event.[21][22][23] Later in the same finals session, she won her second silver medal of the Championships, this time in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay where she swam a 55.23 for the third leg of the relay, contributing to the final time of 3:40.85.[24] Pallister finished competing on 25 August, the final day of competition, winning a silver medal in the 200-metre freestyle with a time of 1:58.09 and making her efforts six-for-six in terms of medaling in every event she raced, winning a total of three gold medals and three silver medals.[25][26]
After the end of competition, Pallister was named as one of two swimmers of the Championships, receiving the "Female Swimmer of the Championships" honour fromFINA whileAndrey Minakov ofRussia was named as "Male Swimmer of the Championships".[27] She was publicly announced as a nominee for the "One to Watch" award, one of theAustralian Women's Health Sport Awards, in October 2019.[28] The following month, Pallister was announced as the recipient of the "One to Watch" award.[29]
Pallister started off 2020 with a third-consecutive open water title in the Pier to Pub swim in January.[7][30] In September, at the Queensland Short Course Championships, she set a newAustralian record and a newAustralian All Comers record in the 800-metre freestyle with a time of 8:11.71, which made her the first Australian woman to swim the race in less than 8 minutes and 12 seconds.[31][32]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic the2020 Australian Short Course Championships were held virtually in November, Pallister took full advantage of the Championships still being held and set a new Australian record and a new Australian All Comers record in the 800-metre freestyle with her time of 8:10.12.[33][34] She also set new Australian and Australian All Comers records in the 1500-metre freestyle with a time of 15:28.33 that made her the fourth fastest female swimmer in the race in history only behindSarah Köhler ofGermany,Mireia Belmonte ofSpain, andLauren Boyle ofNew Zealand.[34][35]
Leading up to the2022 Commonwealth Games, Pallister and her mother both served as baton bearers as part of the2022 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay in March.[36] As of 30 March 2022, Pallister ranked second globally for the 2022 year in the long course 1500-metre freestyle, only behindKatie Ledecky of theUnited States.[37]
At the2022 Australian Swimming Championships in May, and conducted in long course metres, Pallister won the gold medal in the 800-metre freestyle with a personal best time of 8:17.77 and qualified for the2022 World Aquatics Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games.[38] Her time made her the second-fastest female Australian ever in the long course 800-metre freestyle afterAriarne Titmus.[39] On the third day, she swam a personal best time of 1:57.23 in the prelims heats of the 200-metre freestyle, qualifying for the final ranking fifth.[40] In the final, she lowered her personal best time to a 1:56.28 and placed sixth.[41] She achieved another World Championships and Commonwealth Games qualifying time in the 1500-metre freestyle on the fourth day, winning the gold medal with a personal best time of 15:55.40.[40] The fifth and final day of competition, she ranked second in the prelims heats of the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 4:08.87 and qualified for the final.[42] She placed second in the final with a personal best time of 4:02.21.[40]
| 2022 World Championships (LC) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4×200 m freestyle | 7:43.86 (h) |
 | 1500 m freestyle | 15:48.96 |
On the first day ofpool swimming competition at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, Pallister qualified for the final of the400-metre freestyle ranking third with a time of 4:03.71 in the preliminaries heats.[43] In the evening final, she swam a personal best time of 4:02.16 and placed fourth.[44] The following day, she ranked fourth in the preliminary stage of competition in the1500-metre freestyle, qualifying for the final with a time of 15:57.61.[45] She won the bronze medal in the final the following day, finishing in a personal best time of 15:48.96, which was less than five seconds behind silver medalistKatie Grimes of the United States.[46][47][48] It marked the first time an Australian woman won a medal in the 1500-metre freestyle at aFINA World Aquatics Championships.[49]
On day five, Pallister split a 1:56.86 for the second leg of the4×200-metre freestyle relay in the preliminaries, helping qualify the relay for the final ranking first in 7:47.61.[50] In the final,Leah Neale swam the second leg of the relay in her place and she won a silver medal for her efforts in the preliminaries when the finals relay finished second in 7:43.86.[51] The next day, she qualified for the final of the800 metre freestyle ranking second in the prelims, behind first-ranked Katie Ledecky of the United States and ahead of third-rankedLeah Smith of the United States, with a time of 8:24.66.[52] She withdrew from competition following her finals qualification, not competing in the final of the event.[53]
On day four ofswimming competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Pallister ranked first in the preliminaries of the800-metre freestyle with a time of 8:32.67.[54][55] In the final the following day, she lowered her time to a 8:19.16 and won the bronze medal behind two other Australian swimmers.[56] In her final event of the Games, the400-metre freestyle on the sixth and final day of swimming competition, she ranked fourth in the preliminaries, behind first-rankedErika Fairweather ofNew Zealand, second-rankedSummer McIntosh ofCanada, and third-ranked Ariarne Titmus of Pallister's country, and qualified for the final.[57] In the final, she placed fifth with a time of 4:04.43, finishing 0.59 seconds behind fourth-place finisher Erika Fairweather and 5.30 seconds ahead of six-place finisherEve Thomas, both of New Zealand.[58] Following her performances, on 10 August, she was named to the Team Australia roster for the 2022Duel in the Pool.[59]
In August, at the2022 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships, Pallister won the bronze medal in the 200-metre freestyle with a personal best time of 1:53.81 on day one before setting new Australian and Australia All Comers records in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:24.63 later in the day.[60][61][62] Two days later, she won the 400-metre freestyle in a personal best time of 3:56.74.[60][63] The fourth and final day, she won the 800-meter freestyle in a new Australian and Australian All Comers record time of 8:07.37.[60][64][65]
| 2022 World Championships (SC) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 400 m freestyle | 3:55.04 |
| 800 m freestyle | 8:04.07 (NR) |
| 4×200 m freestyle | 7:30.87 (WR) |
| 1500 m freestyle | 15:21.43 (CR,OC) |
Pallister earned a spot on the Team Australia roster for the2022 World Short Course Championships in December based on her results at the 2022 Australian Short Course Championships and was publicly named to the roster on 2 September.[66] The first morning, she advanced to the final of the400-metre freestyle ranking second per her time of 3:59.50 in the preliminaries.[67] For the final, she achieved a time drop of 1.70 seconds from her previous best time in the event, formerly 3:56.74, to win the gold medal with a new personal best time of 3:55.04.[68][69][70][71] Her medal was the first gold medal won by a female Australian swimmer at the home-country 2022 World Short Course Championships.[68][69][72]
The evening of day two, Pallister registered another personal best time, this time winning the gold medal in the800-metre freestyle with an Australian and All Comers record time of 8:04.07, which was a 3.30 second improvement on her previous personal best and the corresponding national marks.[73][74] She followed up with her firstworld record in swimming, helping win the gold medal in the4×200-metre freestyle relay with the quickest split time of her finals relay teammates, a 1:52.24, that contributed to the newworld record andChampionships record mark of 7:30.87 and made her a simultaneous world record holder in two sports, one world record in swimming and twoworld records in life saving.[74][75][76] For her final event of the Championships, the1500-metre freestyle on day four, she won the first-ever World Short Course Championships title and gold medal in the event for a female swimmer, achieving her victory with a Championships,Oceanian,Commonwealth, Australian, and Australian All Comers record time of 15:21.43, which was a 3.20 second time drop from her previous best mark of 15:24.63.[77][78][79] At the awards ceremony, she received her medal from her godmotherDawn Fraser.[5]
At the 2023 Pier to Pub open water swim in January, Pallister won the Super Fish category, placed second overall amongst female competitors, and twenty-eighth overall among all competitors with a time of 12:36.[80] In April, at the2023 Australian Swimming Championships inGold Coast, Queensland, she won the silver medal in the 800-metre freestyle with a time of 8:24.72. She also won the silver medal in the 400-metre freestyle on day three with a 4:05.86. On day four of four, she placed seventh in the 200-metre freestyle with a 1:58.13.[81] Two months later, she placed second in the 400-metre freestyle at the2023 Australian Swimming Trials with a2023 World Aquatics Championships qualifying time of 4:02.43 and third in the 200-metre freestyle with a personal best time of 1:56.03.[82]
2024 Olympics
During the 2024 Summer Olympics Pallister withdrew from the women’s 1500m freestyle after testing positive for Covid-19.[83]
| Meet | 200 freestyle | 400 freestyle | 800 freestyle | 1500 freestyle | 4×100 freestyle | 4×200 freestyle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior level | ||||||
| WJC 2017 (age: 15) | 10th (8:39.86) | 8th (16:32.59) | ||||
| PACJ 2018 (age: 16) |  (1:59.00) |  (4:07.76) | (8:29.65) | (16:08.09CR) | (3:41.51; split 55.08, 4th leg) | (7:59.97; split 1:58.83, 1st leg) |
| WJC 2019 (age: 17) | (1:58.09) | (4:05.42CR) | (8:22.49CR) | (15:58.86CR) | (3:40.85; split 55.23, 3rd leg) | (7:57.87; split 1:58.61, 1st leg) |
| Senior level | ||||||
| WC 2022 (age: 20) | 4th (4:02.16) | 2nd (h,WD) (8:24.66) |  (15:48.96) | [a] (split 1:56.86, 2nd leg) | ||
| CG 2022 (age: 20) | 5th (4:04.43) | (8:19.16) | — | |||
| Meet | 200 freestyle | 400 freestyle | 800 freestyle | 1500 freestyle | 4×100 freestyle | 4×200 freestyle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WC 2022 (age: 20) | (3:55.04) | (8:04.07NR) | (15:21.43CR,OC) | (7:30.87WR; split 1:52.24, 4th leg) | ||
| WC 2024 (age: 22) | 4th (1:51.75) | (3:53.73OC) | (8:01.95CR,NR) | (3:28.25; split 52.36, 4th leg) | (7:33.60; split 1:51.84, 4th leg) |
| Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m freestyle | 54.64 | 2024 Australian Championships | Gold Coast | 17 April 2024 | |||
| 200 m freestyle | 1:54.77 | r | 2025 World Aquatics Championships | Singapore | 31 July 2025 | ||
| 400 m freestyle | 3:58.87 | 2025 World Aquatics Championships | Singapore | 27 July 2025 | |||
| 800 m freestyle | 8:05.98 | 2025 World Aquatics Championships | Singapore | 2 August 2025 | OC,NR | ||
| 1500 m freestyle | 15:39.14 | 2025 Australian Swimming Trials | Adelaide | 14 June 2025 | OC,NR,ACR |
| Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 25.68 | 2020 Queensland Championships | Brisbane | 25 September 2020 | [3] | |
| 100 m freestyle | 55.36 | 2018 Australian Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 25 October 2018 | [3] | |
| 200 m freestyle | 1:53.81 | 2022 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships | Sydney | 24 August 2022 | [60] | |
| 400 m freestyle | 3:55.04 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 13 December 2022 | [68] | |
| 800 m freestyle | 8:04.07 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 14 December 2022 | NR,ACR | [73] |
| 1500 m freestyle | 15:21.43 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 16 December 2022 | OC,CR,NR,ACR | [77] |
| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Age | Status | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4×200 m freestyle relay | 7:30.87 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 14 December 2022 | 20 | Former | [75] |
| 2 | 800 m freestyle | 7:54.00 | 2025 Swimming World Cup | Toronto,Canada | 25 October 2025 | 23 | Current | [84] |
| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Age | Age Group | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 m rescue medley | 1:12.14 | 2018 National Pool Life Saving Championships | Adelaide | 5 August 2018 | 16 | Youth | [8] |
| 2 | 200 m super lifesaver | 2:24.19 | 2018 World Lifesaving Championships | Adelaide | 27 November 2018 | 16 | Youth | [11] |
| 3 | 100 m rescue medley (2) | 1:10.21 | 2018 World Lifesaving Championships | Adelaide | 28 November 2018 | 16 | Youth | [11][12] |
| 4 | 200 m super lifesaver (2) | 2:22.32 | 27th International German Cup | Warendorf,Germany | 23 November 2019 | 17 | Youth | [85] |
| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Status | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4x200 m freestyle relay[a] | 7:38.08 | 2024 Summer Olympics | Paris,France | 1 August 2024 | Current | [86] |
a split 1:55.61 (2nd leg) withMollie O'Callaghan (1st leg),Brianna Throssell (3rd leg),Ariarne Titmus (4th leg)
| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Age | Type | Status | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 800 m freestyle | 8:11.71 | 2020 Queensland Championships | Brisbane | 25 September 2020 | 18 | NR,ACR | Former | [31][32] | |
| 2 | 800 m freestyle (2) | 8:10.12 | 2020 Australian Short Course Championships | Brisbane | 26 November 2020 | 18 | NR,ACR | Former | [3][33][34] | |
| 3 | 1500 m freestyle | 15:28.33 | 2020 Australian Short Course Championships | Brisbane | 26 November 2020 | 18 | NR,ACR | Former | [3][34][35] | |
| 4 | 1500 m freestyle (2) | 15:24.63 | 2022 Australian Short Course Championships | Sydney | 24 August 2022 | 20 | NR,ACR | Former | [60][61][62] | |
| 5 | 800 m freestyle (3) | 8:07.37 | 2022 Australian Short Course Championships | Sydney | 27 August 2022 | 20 | NR,ACR | Former | [60][64][65] | |
| 6 | 800 m freestyle (4) | 8:04.07 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 14 December 2022 | 20 | NR,ACR | Current | [73][74] | |
| 7 | 4×200 m freestyle | 7:30.87 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 14 December 2022 | 20 | OC,NR,ACR | Current | WR,CR | [74][75][76] |
| 8 | 1500 m freestyle (3) | 15:21.43 | 2022 World Short Course Championships | Melbourne | 16 December 2022 | 20 | OC,NR,ACR | Current | CR | [77][79] |
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