Lani Pallister

Distance freestyler Lani Pallister is the daughter of Janelle Pallister (Elford) – a Seoul 1988 Olympian and Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games gold medallist – and champion surf lifesaver and triathlete Rick Pallister. So it’s perhaps no surprise she is a world-beater in two sports.

Lani, who grew up swimming in the surf in Sydney and was coached by her mum, has triumphed in the pool but is also an elite surf lifesaver, setting world records in the 100m rescue medley and the 200m super lifesaver.

As a 17-year-old, Lani was one of the stars of the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, winning gold in the 400m, 800m and 1500m and silver in the 200m, the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Lani’s career suffered a hiccup when she was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) – which can cause an irregular or elevated heartbeat – and she underwent heart surgery. She was also diagnosed with an eating disorder.

In 2020, she moved to the Griffith University Swim Club on Queensland’s Gold Coast, where she is still coached by Janelle, along with Michael Bohl.

After narrowly missing selection for the Tokyo Olympics, Lani debuted for the Dolphins at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, winning silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay and a bronze in the 1500m freestyle.

A few weeks later, she made her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham, where she won bronze in the 800m freestyle and reached the final of the 400m freestyle.

Later in the same year, Lani shot to stardom with four gold medals at the World Short Course Championships in Melbourne, earning her the Female Swimmer of the Meet award. She won gold in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay.

At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, she made the finals of the 400m, 800m and 1500m, but finished out of the medals. However, she came home with a gold medal as part of the Australian team that won the 4x200m freestyle relay.

At a Swimming World Cup meeting in Hungary later in the year, Lani set a personal best and broke the 800m freestyle World Cup record in a time of 8:15.11, making her the seventh fastest performer of all time in the event.

Lani confirmed her place on the Australian team for Paris when she finished second behind Ariarne Titmus in the 400m freestyle at the Australian Olympic trials in Brisbane. Lani’s time of 2:02.27 bettered the Olympic qualifying time set by Swimming Australia.

She also ensured a place in the 800m freestyle by finishing second in the final – once again to Ariarne – and snared third place in the 200m freestyle.

And she ended the trials on a high, winning the 1500m freestyle on the final night in a qualifying time of 15:53.79.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Lani won gold in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay alongside Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O'Callaghan and Brianna Throssell in the final.

She finished sixth in the women's 800m freestyle final and withdrew from the women's 1500m freestyle due to COVID-19.

Away from the pool, Lani, whose godmother is Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser, is studying biomedical science at Griffith University.