'Brutal conversation' that ended Aussie's slump

Lani Pallister was already bawling her eyes out as she trudged from the pool deck to the Australian team area at the 2023 world swimming titles, distraught after capping her Fukuoka campaign with a dismal result.

What followed was a “brutal conversation” with one of her coaches, as she revealed in an interview with Wide World of Sports.

She pulled off her swimsuit, got changed and copped some home truths from Michael Bohl, who Pallister has deep respect for and is still coached by today.

A drug tester was standing behind Pallister, ready to take her to testing, but the testing had to wait.

In 2022, Pallister had returned to swimming after a time in her life rocked by an eating disorder and a heart issue that required surgery. She’d had success upon her return to the pool, winning four gold medals at the 2022 short-course world titles.

But in 2023, she lacked purpose as a swimmer and was an emotional yoyo. It showed in her results.

“When I got out of the water [at the 2023 world championships] I was already bawling my eyes out because my time was shithouse, and he was like, ‘We’ll have a chat tomorrow’, and I was like, ‘If it’s going to make me cry, we’ll just have it now’,” the 21-year-old, who’s on the Gold Coast this week for the Australian swimming championships, tells Wide World of Sports.

“I’m a pretty emotional person, it doesn’t take me much to cry.