Distance freestyler Lani Pallister is the daughter of Janelle 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 champion in two sports – swimming and surf lifesaving.

Lani, who grew up swimming in the surf in Sydney but now proudly wears the black and yellow cap of her club Alexandra Headland SLSC on the Sunshine Coast, has triumphed in the pool but is also an elite surf lifesaver, setting junior world records in the 100m rescue medley and the 200m super lifesaver.

But there was perhaps no swimmer more emotional at the Australian Selection Trials than Lani after punching her ticket for Paris.

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.

Her efforts saw her awarded Swimmer of the Meet.

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 in March 2021 after moving to Griffith University Swim Club on the Gold Coast the year before, where she is coached by head coach Michael Bohl and mum Janelle Pallister.

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.

After qualifying second for the 800m final, Lani was forced to withdraw due to covid.

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. She won gold in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay – setting a world record.

At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, she made the finals of the 400m, 800m and 1500m.

She also came home with a gold medal as part of the Australian team that won the 4x200m freestyle relay as a heat swimmer.

At the 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 trials in Brisbane.

POD POP UP STAT: Away from the pool, Lani, whose godmother is Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser, will always order an iced vanilla latte and as a self-confessed coffee snob, will only drink a cappuccino if her dad makes it at home.