Aussie swimmer defies the odds to qualify for Paris Olympics after secret battle with a life-threatening eating disorder and heart surgery

Australian swimmer Lani Pallister overcame an eating disorder and heart surgery to qualify for the Paris Olympics on the opening night of the Olympic swimming trials.

Pallister, 22, hit the wall second in 4:02.27 behind Ariarne Titmus in the women’s 400m freestyle final, bettering Swimming Australia’s Olympic qualifying time.

“I don’t want to cry on camera,” she said.

‘I was thinking about three years ago (the Tokyo Olympic Trials) all day. Three years ago I didn’t think I would be here and now I’m going to my first Olympic Games.

Lani Pallister (pictured with Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser) has qualified for Paris

Pallister, who has overcome an eating disorder and heart surgery, has fought back for years

‘I’m just incredibly grateful.

“I just want to try to find her (mom) and give her a hug before I start crying.

“I am so grateful for everything they have done for me and I can’t wait to continue the family legacy in Paris this year.”

Pallister had tried to make the 2021 Olympic team for the Tokyo Games but was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia – a heart condition that causes an increased or irregular heartbeat.

She also privately battled an eating disorder, living on just two meals a day and becoming obsessive about comparing her physique to that of other swimmers.

‘I can’t really put it into words. When I stopped swimming three years ago to where I am today…incredible,” Pallister said.

‘It’s something I’ve been talking about every day for three years. If you had told me three years ago that I would be standing here, I wouldn’t have believed you.

‘I still can’t believe I thought I could become an athlete with one, maybe two meals a day.

Pallister (pictured with Ariarne Titmus) said she couldn’t believe she had come so far since her dark days three years ago

Pallister says talking to teammate Emily Seebohm about her eating disorder was an important step for her in recovery

‘It’s so important to talk about it. The only reason I finally said anything to my mother was because of Emily Seebohm.

“It helped that I had a more experienced athlete in my life who went through something similar. Eating disorders bring a lot of shame. You kind of know you’re doing the wrong thing. It’s not a healthy coping mechanism.

“It’s something you have to deal with for the rest of your life, but I have a great support system around me.”

Pallister mother, former Olympic swimmer and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Janelle Pallister, thought her daughter would quit the sport for good.

‘I actually asked her to think about it carefully [quitting swimming] because it wasn’t really worth the pain she went through,” Janelle shared Nine in 2022.

“She was determined to come back and she came back with a vengeance.”