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.
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