Lilly King, who has announced that this will be her final Olympic Games, is on the brink of making a historic splash in swimming.
On Sunday night, at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France, King secured a third-place finish in the semifinal of the 100-meter breaststroke.
In comparison to her outstanding Olympic Trials time of 1:05.43 at Lucas Oil Stadium, the 27-year-old graduate from Indiana University in Evansville finished third overall with a time of 1:05.64.
Lilly King is gearing up for her final Olympics swim and she’s not a kid anymore. The news about the swimmer is making rounds and she’s excited to savor this moment.
South Africa’s Tatjana Smith clocked the best time of 1:05.00, while Mona McSharry from Ireland trailed in second place with a time of 1:05.51.
In the first semifinal of the Olympics, Tang Qianting from China, who was one of the top contenders, emerged victorious with a time of 1:05.83. It is noteworthy that her personal best time is only slightly behind the current world record of 1:04.13 held by King since 2017.
We will be having the final on Monday night.
King expressed her desire to fully embrace the experience, saying, “I am making a conscious effort to savor every moment. In the past two Olympics, I don’t think I allowed myself to truly appreciate the magnitude of it all. This time around, I am taking it all in and trying to be present in the moment.”
It’s possible for King to make history in the 100 breaststroke by becoming the first woman to win multiple Olympic gold medals or the first to earn three medals – or even both.
Lydia Jacoby of the United States proved to be a formidable opponent for the gold medal in 2021, leaving the talented athlete with a bronze medal. However, this was not the first time she had won a medal in the Olympics, having previously won a gold medal in 2016. The silver medal was secured by Smith, who also put up an impressive performance.
In the morning heats, King secured the fifth position with a timing of 1:06.10. On the other hand, Smith managed to clock the same timing of 1:05.00 as her semifinal.
King admitted feeling a bit shaken after the morning’s swim, saying, “I definitely swam a dumb race, one very similar to the worlds final last year. So I’m glad I got that one out of the way.”
Kotryna Teterevkova, a Lithuanian athlete who prepared for the Paris Olympics in Bloomington, Ind., achieved a 16th place finish in the semifinals with a time of 1:07.48. IU’s Ray Looze served as her coach during the competition.
Chris Giuliano, a swimmer from Notre Dame and a recent gold medalist in the 4×100 freestyle relay, unfortunately did not advance to the next round of the 200 freestyle after failing to make it out of the heats. He finished 19th with a time of 1:47.60.
Rafael Miroslaw, a German swimmer representing IU, finished 13th in the heats of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.81. In the semifinals, he finished 15th with a time of 1:47.34 and unfortunately did not advance to the next round.