Why gold medallist was ‘bawling her eyes out’ before Paris Olympics
Just moments before securing Olympic gold with the Australian relay team in Paris, Lani Pallister was in the staging area “bawling her eyes out.”
The tears weren’t from pre-race nerves, but from heartbreak.
Lani Pallister (middle) with Archie Goodburn (right). @lanipallister
She had just learned of the devastating cancer diagnosis of her close friend, Scottish swimmer Archie Goodburn.
At 22 years old, Goodburn was handed a diagnosis of three ‘low-grade’ brain tumours.
He was told they were inoperable and that the tumours would cut his lifespan short, doctors admitting he may not live past the age of 40.
Despite the grim news, the Scottish swimmer’s trajectory over the past two years has been nothing short of extraordinary.
After competing at his home Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Goodburn pivoted his energy towards advocacy.
He personally booked in a time to discuss and advocate for brain cancer research in young patients across the UK with prime minster Andy Burnham after a viral video on BBC Breakfast.
“I remember meeting Archie in 2019 at World Juniors actually (with) Meg Harris and some of the other girls on that team. I remember hearing about Archie’s diagnosis just before the Olympics in 2024, and I bawled my eyes out in staging,” Pallister admitted exclusively to nine.com.au.
“I think at swimming meets everyone is so social, and you mingle and you make friends. He tells me about his treatments and that sort of thing, he is doing incredible things advocating for brain cancer research.
“I’m just really fortunate that we stayed in touch the whole time. I know that he’s finally organised to go and speak to the British prime minister and trying to push for more funding for brain cancer because in the UK, it’s the biggest [cancer] killer of young British citizens for people under 40.
“I think he’s taken an opportunity where he’s one of the most incredible swimmers in the world, but he’s also one of the most incredible people.
“He’s going through something so tragic, but he’s able to advocate for more than himself and push and really fight for something that he believes in.
“I think having him as an athlete is really cool, but having this story as well is just, it makes me really proud of him as a friend.”
Goodburn’s perseverance has profoundly impacted Pallister’s own approach to life and training, admitting that witnessing her friend’s battle serves as a constant reminder to stay grounded.
“I think when you wake up and you might not necessarily want to go to training, you have to look at the bigger picture and realise that there’s people going through so much more,” the Shokz athlete said.
“There’s no point complaining if you’re tired and not wanting to do something, because you could be in a far worse situation.”
Fresh off a gruelling program at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Pallister is heading straight into another major meet: the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California.
With the absence of Canada’s Summer McIntosh and Team USA’s Katie Ledecky in Glasgow, Pallister is eager to perform against her top rivals and will be banking on the tough-love lessons taught by her mum - Australian swimming star and her former junior coach, Janelle Elford.
“I think the biggest thing with my mom is, she coached me for so long that I never had a crazy swim parent. If I didn’t want to go to training, I wouldn’t go to training because my mom would be like, ‘Well, I can’t be late. So if you’re gonna throw a tantrum, you can stay home’,” said Pallister.
Lani Pallister of Team Australia. Quinn Rooney
“I never had someone forcing me into doing something or forcing me to swim because she did, or forcing me to go and race. Everything was kind of up to me.
“If I didn’t want to put the effort in, she explained that that’ll reflect in my result and that’s going to be my choice and I have to wear that crown.
“I think learning those lessons really young...is a huge reason that I’ve had longevity in the sport now and I’ve been able to swim for as long as I have and still been interested in it.
“When you see typically people get to their mid-20s - now that I’m in my mid-20s - they want to stop swimming.
“She did everything physically possible in the sport; Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, she also swam the exact same events that I swam, so she pretty much had the playbook for success for me.”
The 2026 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships are live and free on the 9Network and 9Now from Thursday August 13. Finals will take place daily from 12pm AEST on Channel 9 and 9Now.