As Her Spectacular Career Winds Down, a Look at the Excellence of Lilly King
It’s official: Lilly King is retiring. The three-time Olympian and breaststroke legend announced in a May 31 Instagram post that this season will be her last. Alongside a collection of memorable photos from her career, King wrote: “I’m fortunate heading into retirement being able to say I have accomplished everything I have ever wanted in the sport.”
King, who started swimming at age 7, has left a lasting impact on the sport both in and out of the pool.
Early Career
At 16 years old, King made her first national splash at the 2012 U.S. Winter Junior National Championships, where she won the 100-yard breaststroke and set a National Age Group record with a time of 59.67. Two years later, she competed at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, winning gold in both the 100-meter breaststroke and the 400-meter medley relay. King went on to continue her swimming career at Indiana University beginning in 2015.
College
King’s career truly took off during her time as a Hoosier. She swept NCAA titles in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke all four years at Indiana, breaking multiple records along the way. Her dominant performances made her the most decorated female breastroker in NCAA history, with eight individual titles.
The Finger Wag
In 2016, King qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in the 100-meter breaststroke. In the final, she raced in the lane next to Russian Swimmer Yulia Efimova, who had previously served a suspension for doping. A clip of the 19-year-old King wagging her finger at Efimova before the race quickly went viral.
King backed up the gesture by winning gold, defeating Efimova in one of the most talked-about moments of the 2016 Games. In a post-race interview with NBC, King said: “You’re shaking your finger No. 1, and you’ve been caught for drug cheating. I’m just not a fan.” The moment made King a household name throughout the country, and defined her as an athlete willing to speak out against doping.
2017 World Record
Throughout her career, King has had no shortage of standout moments, but one may stand above the rest. In a recent interview with Elizabeth Beisel, King recalled her most memorable moment of setting a world record in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest.
She told Beisel that before she raced, she told her coach: “There are going to be tears in this pool tonight, and they’re not gonna be mine.” She was right. King touched the wall in 1:04.13, setting a world record that still has yet to be broken.
Olympic Appearances
King has made three Olympic appearances – 2016, 2020 and 2024. Her breakout came at the 2016 Rio Games, where she won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 400-meter medley relay. At the Tokyo Olympics, King added to her medal haul with a silver in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 400-meter medley relay, along with a bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke.
The 2024 Paris Games marked King’s final Olympic appearance. King finished eighth in the 200-meter breaststroke, tied for fourth in the 100-meter breastroke and closed her Olympic career with a gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay. Alongside teammates Torri Huske, Gretchen Walsh and Regan Smith, the team set a world record with a time of 3:49.63.
King’s Legacy
In a recent Youtube video, longtime friend and teammate Cody Miller praised King’s outspoken presence. “Our sport desperately needs more people like Lilly,” Miller said. “People that ruffle feathers, people that aren’t afraid to say what they’re really thinking, people that make things interesting.”
King addressed this same quality in a 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, saying: “They want us to be nice and be humble, and in reality, the great athletes aren’t always like that all the time. We’re fierce and competitive and we’re angry when we do poorly. To hide that is a disservice to women in sports.”
The Finale
King’s final meet will take place in Singapore at the World Championships, which begin in July. She qualified in both the 50- and 100-meter breaststroke events. At the U.S. Trials, King won the 50-meter breaststroke in 29.88 and finished second in the 100-meter breaststroke behind Kate Douglass.
As the swimming world looks ahead to her final races, all eyes will be on how King closes out her memorable career. Regardless of the outcome, the legacy of the 18-time world champion, 27-time world medalist and world-record holder is already firmly set in the sport’s history.