King waves goodbye to competition; Meilutyte wins
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NBC Sports
03-08-2025
- NBC Sports
King waves goodbye to competition; Meilutyte wins
Lily King finished 4th in her final international competition, while Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte came out on top to win the 50m breaststroke in 29.55 seconds at the 2025 World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Singapore.
New York Times
03-08-2025
- New York Times
Lilly King, U.S. star who finger-wagged to Olympic gold in Rio, says farewell to swimming
Lilly King, the American who made a finger-waving star turn at the 2016 Rio Olympics, swam the last individual race of her career Sunday on the final day of swimming's world championships, finishing fifth in the women's 50-meter breaststroke final. In the second of eight finals to wrap up the swimming program of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, King was in the medal mix for most of the one-length sprint, touching in 30.25 seconds. But it wasn't quite enough to get on the podium. Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte won in 29.55, with China's Qianting Tang earning silver in 30.03. Benedetta Pilato of Italy took bronze in 30.14. Advertisement King may still be called into relay duty later Sunday, but she has said this is the final meet of her career. King's rivalry with Russia's Yulia Efimova was one of the highlights of the 2016 Games. After posting the top time in the qualifying round of the 100-meter breaststroke, just one-hundredth of a second faster than Efimova, King waved a finger in the pool to signal her place atop the standings. Efimova, the reigning world champion at the time, then did the same gesture after winning her semifinal later. As King, 19 years old at the time, waited in the ready room to go out for the second semifinal, cameras caught her watching Efimova on a monitor and waving the finger back. King then won her semifinal with a better time than Efimova's and once again wagged the finger in the pool. There was more than just bravado in the finger wagging. Efimova had faced multiple doping suspensions in the years leading up to the Rio Games, and the gesture was King's way of providing some commentary — her 'Lilly-ness,' as she calls it, coming out. 'You've been caught for drug cheating,' King said in an interview with NBC after those prelims, referring to Efimova. 'I'm just not a fan.' That set up a much-anticipated showdown between the two in the final, which King won with a strong late surge to set what was then an Olympic record of 1:04.93 and win gold. Of the ready-room incident, King said years later, 'I was just making fun of her; I didn't know I was getting filmed. I was just joking around, not being too serious, but yes, I was ready to kick her butt.' Her outspoken nature and electric talent made her a hit with U.S. fans. She went on to win silver in the 200-meter at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and bronze in the 100-meter. She also has three 4×100-meter medley relay golds across three Games, from Rio to last summer in Paris. She told Peacock on Sunday that she hopes that her confidence resonates with others as she leaves the sport. Advertisement 'Don't be afraid to trust yourself, to be yourself, to sometimes say the wrong thing,' she said. 'Just be the confident swimmer that you are. You know you put in the work. I hope I left the sport better than I found it.' King, now 28, is still the world-record holder in the 100-meter. She set that at the 2017 world championships with a time of 1:04.13, which she called 'probably my favorite race.' In other finals Sunday, Australian Meg Harris won gold in the women's 50-meter freestyle in 24.02. China took the silver and bronze spots with Qingfeng Wu (24.26) and Yujie Cheng (24.28). American Gretchen Walsh just missed her third individual medal of these championships, finishing fourth. Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi won his second gold medal of the week, finishing in 14:34.41 to take the men's 1,500-meter freestyle to go along with his 800-meter title. Germany's Sven Schwarz took silver in 14:35.69. American Bobby Finke, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist in the event and one of many Americans affected by a stomach illness this week, secured bronze in 14:36.69. 'This week's been quite a whirlwind,' Finke said on Peacock after the race. 'I'm disappointed with my results, but that's on me. I just gotta do better next year.' In the men's 50-meter backstroke, Kliment Kolesnikov, a Russian competing as a neutral athlete, set a world championship record to win in 23.68. South Africa's Pieter Coetze and Pavel Samusenko, also a Russian competing as a neutral athlete, tied for silver in 24.17. There were four finals still to come — men's and women's 400-meter individual medleys, and the men's and women's 4×100-meter medley relays.
NBC Sports
31-07-2025
- NBC Sports
NBC SPORTS AND WORLD AQUATICS EXTEND MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERSHIP THROUGH 2028
July 31, 2025 - World Aquatics has extended its exclusive U.S. media rights agreement with NBC Sports through 2028, in a deal brokered by global agency SPORTFIVE. The multi-year deal guarantees American audiences will continue to enjoy the excitement of world-class aquatic competition, headlined by the World Aquatics Championships, the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) and the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup series. The agreement helps boost momentum toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games in the U.S. while ensuring coverage for the flagship World Aquatics events and sharing the performances of US aquatics athletes with their home audience. As part of the agreement, NBC Sports will present a dynamic slate of World Aquatics events annually across NBC and Peacock, including: World Aquatics Championships World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) Swimming World Cup Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final Diving World Cup High Diving World Cup Crucially, the agreement includes the 2027 World Aquatics Championships, in Budapest (Hungary), a major highlight on the international sports calendar and a key milestone on the road to the LA 2028 Olympic Games. The World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) – Beijing 2026 will also feature. Husain Al Musallam, World Aquatics President, said: 'We are delighted to extend our valued partnership with NBC Sports, a broadcaster that shares our commitment to bringing the excitement and excellence of aquatic sports to fans across the United States. This agreement ensures broad and consistent exposure for our athletes and events, including the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest—a key milestone on the road to the LA 2028 Olympic Games. With NBC Sports' unparalleled reach and storytelling, we look forward to inspiring new generations and celebrating the global aquatics community together.' This extension marks a significant development for aquatic media exposure in the U.S. and continues NBC Sports' tradition of providing robust Olympic sport programming. Already the U.S. media rightsholder for the Olympic Games through 2036, NBC Sports' expanded World Aquatics coverage complements its existing coverage of USA Swimming and the 2028 U.S. Olympic Trials. Joe Gesue, SVP, Olympic Programming & Planning, NBC Sports, stated: 'Our long-standing relationship with our valued partners at World Aquatics is core to our mission of telling the stories and showcasing the achievements of the world's greatest athletes to the American audience. Aquatic sports have provided so many magical moments over the years, from swimming stars like Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky, clutch diving golds by Laura Wilkinson and David Boudia, world championship wins in water polo, and the U.S. artistic swimming team's viral program from Paris. We are excited about sharing many more on the road to LA28.' This partnership also underscores SPORTFIVE's role as one of the world's leading media rights agencies. With decades of experience negotiating and facilitating global sports media deals, SPORTFIVE continues to help premium rightsholders and broadcasters create impactful partnerships that grow audiences and boost sports visibility. From Olympic sports to global championships, SPORTFIVE connects premium content with premier platforms, bringing world-class sports to global audiences. Thomas Klingebiel, President Media Global, SPORTFIVE, added: 'SPORTFIVE is proud to have brokered this landmark agreement between World Aquatics and NBC. NBC's longstanding commitment to showcasing elite aquatic sports makes them the ideal partner to elevate the profile of aquatics in the United States. This partnership ensures that fans across the U.S. will have unprecedented access to the world's top aquatic competitions.' About NBC Sports NBC Sports connects sports fans to the moments that matter most with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. As the sports division of NBCUniversal, NBC Sports produces, programs, and promotes premier content across numerous linear and digital platforms, including NBC and Peacock. NBC Sports possesses an unparalleled collection of media rights agreements, partnering and presenting many of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the NFL, NBA, WNBA, Big Ten Conference, Big East Conference, Notre Dame, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, USGA, PGA of America, The R&A, Churchill Downs, Premier League, and many more. It is renowned for making big events bigger and has produced some of the most-watched sporting events in U.S. media history, including Olympic Games, Super Bowls, and Sunday Night Football, primetime television's No. 1 show for 14 consecutive years. About World Aquatics Driven by the vision of a world united by water for health, life and sport, World Aquatics is the international governing body for aquatic sports. Founded in 1908, World Aquatics is an independent organisation formed of 210 National Federations and five Continental Organisations. World Aquatics oversees six aquatic sports – swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving – and is recognised as the leading global authority of these sports by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). For more information, please visit: About SPORTFIVE SPORTFIVE is a global sports marketing agency that delivers customer-centric solutions based on trust and transparency, deep industry experience and global relationships, digital intelligence and innovation. SPORTFIVE strategically and creatively connects brands, rightsholders, media platforms and fans to create and enable contemporary partnerships in sports. While creating and growing long-term value for all, SPORTFIVE often leads the sports business into the future through innovative digital solutions and strives to be the most progressive and respected partner in sports. Being at the centre of professional sport SPORTFIVE will use its unique position, in order to make a positive contribution to sustainability and to live up to the social and economic duty and responsibility, which sport and consequently all parties involved, also have. SPORTFIVE operates with a global mindset and network of over 1,200 local experts based in 15 countries around the world, active in Football, Golf, Handball, Motorsport, Esports, Cricket, Tennis, American Football, Basketball, Hockey, Rugby, Olympics and Multi-Sport Events, Wintersports and many more.
