Latest news with #CommonwealthRecord
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lani Pallister swims into Australian history as rivals caught in 'never seen' drama
Aussie swimmer Lani Pallister has broken a 10-year-old Commonwealth record to cap off an incredible meet at the world championship selection trials in Adelaide. On a dramatic final night in Adelaide, Pallister's historic swim in the women's 1500m freestyle grabbed the headlines after Australian Olympic great Cate Campbell was left stunned by 'never before seen' drama in the women's 50m freestyle. Pallister won the women's 1500m free in 15 minutes 39.14 seconds, one second inside the previous Commonwealth benchmark set by New Zealander Lauren Boyle in 2015. Her extraordinary swim was also the third fastest time in the event's history and brought an end to the selection trials in style, as Australia's 40-strong team for the upcoming Singapore World Championships was finalised. The 23-year-old Pallister was the standout swimmer of the meet after also breaking Ariarne Titmus' Australian record in the 800m freestyle. She also clocked a personal best in the 400m free after swimming under the four-minute mark for the first time on her way to victory. "It has been a good week ... it has shown what I can do," Pallister said. "Every time I finished a race, 200 to the 1500, there's always something that I looked to be like that can be so much better... I'm just so excited to build on it, I don't think that's my limit by any means." Pallister will compete in four freestyle events at next month's worlds, ranging from 200m to 1500m. During the final day of the 2025 Australian Swimming Trials, Lani Pallister won the women's 1500 freestyle in 15:39.14. This is a new Australian and Commonwealth record, and now she is the 3th fastest performer of all time in the event. — Swimming Stats (@SwimmingStats) June 14, 2025 10 year record BROKEN ⛓️💥Lani Pallister has set a new Commonwealth Record in the women's 1500m freestyle, breaking New Zealand's Lauren Boyle's old mark of 15:40.14 set in 2015 😳🔥This girl is an IRONWOMAN 👏👏 — Australian Dolphins Swim Team (@DolphinsAUS) June 14, 2025 Pallister's incredible feat came after Paris Olympic silver medallist Meg Harris booked her ticket to Singapore by taking out the women's 50m freestyle. Harris touched ahead of Olivia Wunsch and Alexandria Perkins, who both finished second after a dead-heat that threw up a massive dilemma for national selectors and left Olympic great Campbell stunned. Wunsch and Perkins both touched in 24.70, which was two hundredths of a second inside Swimming Australia's qualification standard for the worlds. But confusion reigned about which swimmer would claim the second spot in the event behind Harris, with Australia's coaching staff to make a call depending on their schedules and event lineups in Singapore. Fortunately, both women already qualified for Singapore in other events, with Wunsch in the 100m free and Perkins in the 50m and 100m butterfly races. Wunsch has swum faster in the event previously, while Perkins' swim represented a new personal best as she is more of a butterfly specialist. But a gobsmacked Campbell said during commentary for Nine that it was a situation she had never seen before. "This will be very interesting to see what happens and who gets that spot," the Olympic great said. "It's not something that I have encountered before. It's not something that I am aware what the protocols are." Australia's 40-strong team is book-ended in age by 16-year-old Sienna Toohey and 31-year-old Cam McEvoy, who will race at a staggering seventh world championships. Kyle Chalmers also finished the meet in style after equalling his personal best in the 50m butterfly, winning in 22.89. Chalmers is unlikely to swim the event at the worlds though, given it's scheduled on the same day as the 4x100m freestyle relay. with AAP
ABC News
20 hours ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Lani Pallister breaks Commonwealth 1500m freestyle record at Australian Swimming Trials
Lani Pallister has concluded her extraordinary meet on the final night of the Australian Swimming Trials, winning the 1500m freestyle setting a Commonwealth record time of 15:39.14. Pallister will compete in four freestyle events at the world championships in Singapore next month, ranging from 200m to 1500m. The 23-year-old has seen a huge jump in form since moving to new coach Dean Boxall after spending the first part of her career under the wing of her mother, former Olympic swimmer Janelle Pallister (nee Elford). Her time in the 1500m was a second under the previous Commonwealth record set in 2015 by New Zealander Lauren Boyle and a staggering 10 seconds below her personal best from three years ago. But she said she had more to give ahead of the world championships in five weeks. "Every time I finished a race, 200 to the 1500, there's always something that I looked to be like that can be so much better," Pallister said. "I'm just so excited to build on it, I don't think that's my limit by any means." Pallister heads a squad of 40 to contest the world championships. The team contains 10 debutants and a further five who are going to their first long-course world championships. The youngest competitor in the team is 16-year-old breaststroke sensation, Sienna Toohey. The oldest is sprinter Cameron McEvoy (31), who is going to his seventh world championships. McEvoy told Toohey she had a long career in front of her. "You could be around for 20-plus years in the sport," he said. "Just make the most of it, because I'm at the later end of that — it's an absolute roller-coaster of an experience." McEvoy was disqualified from the 50m butterfly on the final night of competition for moving on the blocks in a race won by another veteran Kyle Chalmers. Chalmers said he wanted to mentor the new Dolphins. "When I first came on to the team it was very challenging as a 16-year-old," he said. "I want to make sure that their first experience is probably a lot better than mine was. Asked what advice he'd give to the debutants, Chalmers said he would urge them to "slow down and enjoy it". "You work so hard to be on that team and it's very easy to get caught up putting all that pressure and expectation on yourself. "I don't feel that I enjoyed it as much as I should have on my first few teams. "I got straight into that I want to win and do everything I possibly can do to win and beat myself up if I wasn't doing well in training and beat myself up if I wasn't doing well at training and burn myself out. "Whereas I think it's really important for these young kids to enjoy the fruits of their labour, like they've all worked so hard to be on the Australian swimming team." Chalmers said that although he had qualified for the 50m butterfly at the world championships, he would not swim the event. "It's on the same day as the four-by-one freestyle and that's still my main priority is to play my part in that relay for the boys," Chalmers said. The Singapore squad includes Paris and Tokyo Olympic champions, Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O'Callaghan, who expressed disappointment with their times at this meet. McKeown has qualified for the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke events, while O'Callaghan has qualified for the two shorter backstroke events and the 100m and 200m freestyle. National head coach Rohan Taylor said the pair motivated themselves by setting such high expectations. "They're pretty hard on themselves, I think they need to be a bit kinder to themselves," he said. "We know that's the struggles they're going through, so we're supporting them. "For them to be maybe behind on their preparations — even though they're still good enough to make the team — they're just a little bit short of the work, so they're really just trying to push themselves along. "The plan is always LA [2028 Olympics], so this is part of the plan. It's just them expecting that that's what happens. "We also know that what makes them world's best is that they just are never satisfied, they just keep driving themselves." In other events on the final night of the trials, Paris silver medallist, Meg Harris won the women's 50m freestyle event in a time of 24.17 seconds. "I surprised myself this week which I was definitely happy about," she said. It's definitely been a different prep, and I think so many people have said that they've not got what they needed or didn't do some things. "I did it completely different to what I've ever done before and I'm happy with that swim, it's faster than what I went at trials last year. So just excited for worlds," he said. Harris said it was difficult to find her motivation after the Paris Olympics. "Coming off such a high, I didn't experience that much of a low after Tokyo — like just figuring out, 'wow I've done that, what's next?'" Harris said. Ella Ramsay and Jenna Forester battled all the way in the women's 400m individual medley with Ramsay winning by just .07 seconds. Ramsay's time of 4:36.12 was more than 12 seconds slower than the time set by 18-year-old Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh when she broke the world record at the Canadian trials earlier in the week. Dual Olympian Brendon Smith qualified for the men's 400m individual medley with William Petric in second also qualifying.
