Douglass breaks 50m freestyle swimming world record, Ledecky loses 800m

At the 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California, Australian swimmer Lani Pallister defeated American Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle, marking Ledecky's first major international defeat in the event. Meanwhile, American Kate Douglass made history by breaking the 50m freestyle world record twice, ultimately winning gold. Douglass also secured a medley relay gold and 200m breaststroke silver. Other notable results included Chinese Olympian Yu Yiting upsetting Summer McIntosh in the 200m individual medley and Australian Sam Short setting a national record in the 1,500m freestyle.

Lani Pallister of Australia defeated Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships, marking Ledecky's first international loss in the event. Pallister swam a championship record time of 8:06.10, while Ledecky finished second with a season-best 8:07.26. This was Ledecky's first 800 free final loss since 2010, excluding a domestic meet in 2024. In other events, Kate Douglass set a new world record in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 23.19 seconds. The championships also saw Sam Short of Australia win the 1,500 freestyle and Yu Yiting of China take gold in the 200 individual medley.

Kate Douglass of the United States set a new world record in the women's 50-meter freestyle during the preliminary heats of the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, on Saturday. She completed the race in 23.49 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 23.55 set by her teammate Gretchen Walsh in June. This marks the second time Douglass has broken the world record in this event this year. Douglass, a five-time Olympic medalist, qualified as the top seed for the evening final, with Walsh qualifying second. This was the first individual world record established at the Pan Pacific Championships, which features swimmers from several nations.

American swimmer Gretchen Walsh broke her own women's 100-meter butterfly world record for the fourth time at the Fort Lauderdale Open in Florida. She achieved a time of 54.33 seconds, surpassing her previous record of 54.60 seconds set in May. This latest performance makes Walsh over a second faster than the second-fastest swimmer in the event's history. The 23-year-old has now set the world record multiple times, showcasing her dominance in the butterfly stroke. The event also saw French swimmer Leon Marchand win two titles in the 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley.