Lani Pallister defeats Katie Ledecky in 800m freestyle at Pan Pacific Championships

Australia's Lani Pallister claimed gold in the women's 800-meter freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships, finishing in 8:06.10. U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky placed second with a time of 8:07.26, marking her first loss in the event at an international meet.

The result was only the second defeat Ledecky has suffered in the 800 meters since 2010, and it came as she also finished behind Pallister in the 400-meter freestyle, though she won the 1,500-meter race.

"That was definitely my best swim of the week, so I’m actually pretty happy with it," Ledecky said in Irvine, California. "If I was going to get second tonight, I wanted to make it a good one. It’s a season best, so you can’t complain about that. It’s fine. I wasn’t really thinking too much about my history in the event or anything leading into this. I just wanted to have a good last event here. I’m really proud of the history I have in this event, and that doesn’t go anywhere just from getting second."

Pallister, 24, praised her preparation and the cumulative effort that led to the victory.

"I work really hard and I’m really proud of myself and the journey that I’ve been on to get here. It’s not just this year. It’s an accumulation of hardships and training and performance shifts and moving out of home and that sort of thing. So I think that result’s the sum of a lot of little moments and it’s something that I’ll never take for granted."

The races occur two years before the Los Angeles Olympics, where Ledecky is expected to compete on home soil.