Katie Ledecky extended her 16-year win streak in the 1500m freestyle, though Australian Lani Pallister was closer to her than any 1500m foe at a major international meet in 13 years.
Ledecky won the Pan Pacific Championships title in 15 minutes, 36.09 seconds in Irvine, California. Pallister was 2.53 seconds behind in 15:38.62 to become the third-fastest woman in history.
It was Ledecky’s closest 1500m free at a major international meet — Olympics, worlds, Pan Pacs — since the first of her 11 major titles at the 2013 Worlds at age 16 (2.35 seconds over Lotte Friis of Denmark).
This one marked Ledecky’s first career swim at a major international meet to be held in a U.S. pool.
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“Even with a swim I’m not super happy with, it’s just so much fun to be in this environment and get to experience this,” she said on the broadcast.
Ledecky owns the top 13 times in history, led by her world record 15:20.48. Italian Simona Quadarella is the No. 2 woman all-time with a 15:31.79.
Pallister swam a personal best by 52 hundredths, two hours after she won the 200m free with a time two hundredths shy of her personal best.
“My quad and hip flexor starting almost cramping at 1,000 (meters), so it was kind of just survival mode,” she said.
That Pallister kept it that close adds anticipation for the 800m free on Saturday. At the 2025 Worlds, Pallister finished just 36 hundredths behind Ledecky in that event, nearly running her down in the last lap.
Like the 1500m, Ledecky is undefeated in the 800m in major international meets, winning all 13 of her finals starting with her first Olympic gold in 2012 at age 15.
“I feel like I’ve been listening to the U,S, anthem for almost 10 years now,” Pallister said after the 1500m. “My first junior team was 2017, so it’s like nine years this year that I’ve been on the international stage listening to that anthem. So I pretty much know it word for word.”
Pan Pacs, which are for swimmers outside Europe, continue Thursday with preliminary heats at 1 p.m. ET and finals at 10 p.m., live on Peacock and NBCSN.
Katie Ledecky’s 1500m Freestyles at Major Meets
| Meet | Winning Time | Margin of Victory |
| 2013 Worlds | 15:36.53 | 2.35 |
| 2014 Pan Pacs | 15:28.36 | 27.33 |
| 2015 Worlds | 15:25.48 | 14.66 |
| 2017 Worlds | 15:31.82 | 19.07 |
| 2018 Pan Pacs | 15:38.97 | 21.11 |
| Tokyo Olympics | 15:37.34 | 4.07 |
| 2022 Worlds | 15:30.15 | 14.74 |
| 2023 Worlds | 15:26.27 | 17.04 |
| Paris Olympics | 15:30.02 | 10.33 |
| 2025 Worlds | 15:26.44 | 5.35 |
| 2026 Pan Pacs | 15:36.09 | 2.53 |
Also Wednesday, the U.S. broke the world record in the mixed-gender 4x100m medley relay with Will Modglin (backstroke), Van Mathias (breaststroke), Gretchen Walsh (butterfly) and Kate Douglass (freestyle).
They clocked 3:36.70 to break the world record of 3:37.43 set by the U.S. at the 2024 Olympics.
Walsh won the 50m butterfly in 24.65 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in history and 22 hundredths off Swede Sarah Sjostrom’s world record.
Walsh is the second-fastest woman in history in the 50m fly (24.51 from June), in addition to being the world record holder in the 100m fly and 50m free.
Pallister edged Canadian Summer McIntosh by 19 hundredths in the 200m free — 1:53.67 to 1:53.86.
Pallister and McIntosh are the joint-fifth-fastest women in history in the 200m with personal bests of 1:53.65.
McIntosh, a 19-year-old who won three individual golds at the 2024 Olympics and four individual golds at the 2025 Worlds, swam the 200m free at a major international meet for the first time since the 2023 Worlds.
“It just wasn’t good enough,” McIntosh said. “I touched the wall, and I feel like I had more left.”
McIntosh set a goal to win five individual golds at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the 200m free may be key to that. She is the world record holder and reigning world champion in the 400m free, the 200m and 400m individual medleys and the 200m butterfly.
“I’ve got a long ways to go if I want to get my hand on the wall first in LA (in the 200m free),” she said. “Everything now until then is just working towards that.”
Michael Phelps, who was in attendance Wednesday night, is the only swimmer to win five individual golds at one Olympics. He won eight total golds at the 2008 Beijing Games (including three in relays).
Katharine Berkoff and Regan Smith went one-two for the U.S. in the women’s 100m backstroke.
Berkoff swam 57.93 to become the first American to beat the world record holder Smith in the event at a major international meet since Kathleen Baker at the 2018 Pan Pacs.
Australian Sam Short beat American Bobby Finke by 5.5 seconds in an 800m free duel between each nation’s best male distance swimmer.
Luke Hobson and Gabriel Jett gave the U.S. a one-two in the men’s 200m free. Hobson prevailed in 1:43.85 for his first individual title in a major international long-course meet.
Jett swam a personal best 1:43.96 to become the third-fastest American in history behind Phelps (1:42.96) and Hobson (1:43.73).
Luca Urlando followed his 2025 World title in the 200m butterfly by winning Pan Pacs in 1:53.11, breaking Phelps’ meet record of 1:53.80 from 2006.
