American swimming star Lilly King announces farewell season, final US competition
American three-time Olympic swimming star and world record holder Lilly King has announced the upcoming Toyota National Championships in Indianapolis will be her final meet on U.S. soil as she prepares to call it a career at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
The meet will run Tuesday through Saturday. A longtime breaststroke stalwart, King announced her plans Saturday on Instagram and said swimming her final race in the U.S. in her home state and a pool she's known since her youth 'has always been important to me.'
'Well, folks, my time has come. This will be my final season competing," she wrote. "I'm fortunate heading into retirement being able to say I have accomplished everything I have ever wanted in this sport. I feel fulfilled."
The 28-year-old King holds the world record in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:04.13, set at the 2017 world championships. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 100 breast at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and also captured Olympic titles on relays in Rio and at her final Olympics last year in Paris.
The U.S. women's 4x100 medley relay set a world record in 3:49.63. Regan Smith, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske were her teammates in the Americans' victory over defending Olympic champion Australia.
'Just an awesome way to cap off the meet,' King said afterward.
At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, King earned silver medals in the 200 breaststroke and 4x100 medley relay and a bronze in the 100 breast.
She narrowly missed the medal stand in the 100 breast in Paris, with one-hundredth of a second separating bronze medalist Mona McSharry of Ireland and the fourth-place tie between King and Italy's Benedetta Pilato in 1:05.60.
For King, being home in Indiana next week will mean so much.
It was also in Indianapolis last June during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials that boyfriend and former Indiana University swimmer James Wells proposed to her just off the pool deck — and she said yes.
'I have been racing in the IU Natatorium since I was 10 years old," she wrote. "From state meets, to NCAAs, Nationals, and anything in between, this pool has been my home. I didn't quite make it 20 years (only 18) of racing in Indy, but this is as close as I'm gonna get! I look forward to racing in front of a home crowd one last time."
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
11 minutes ago
- USA Today
Paulo Costa draws confidence from Yoel Romero fight to send Khamzat Chimaev stern warning
Paulo Costa insists UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev won't be able to impose his will on him. Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) dethroned Dricus Du Plessis in dominant fashion to claim the middleweight title in Saturday's UFC 319 headliner at United Center in Chicago. Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) had no answer for Chimaev, who landed 12 takedowns and had more than 21 minutes of control time. Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) says knowing he outlasted Olympic silver medalist wrestler Yoel Romero in his fifth UFC fight in 2019, he's confident that he'll have the strength to fend off Chimaev's wrestling. "He dominate Dricus, but he could not do the same thing that he used to do against welterweights," Costa said of Chimaev on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "Like, maul the guys, finish the guys. When he face a real middleweight, a really heavy middleweight, he's going to have some problems. He's going to look boring. All the other fights, he was in exciting fights because the guys couldn't handle him. Even (Robert) Whittaker. Whittaker is kind of fast, super high-level, but not strong enough to stop a guy like him. Dricus is a real middleweight in my opinion, because he came from, I don't know, maybe 230 pounds to fight at 96 kilos on fight day. That's what I do. I know how to handle these guys. "Remember my fight against (Yoel) Romero? Romero is a high-level wrestler and very good also. He couldn't put me down. He tried four or five times, he (took me down) once at the end of the second round, like 10 seconds left to finish, but he couldn't keep me there. The same when I fight Khamzat. The same is going to happen. He could not hold me down. Even if he takes me down, I don't think I'm going to stay on my feet the whole time against him. I think he can put me down, but he will not keep me there." Costa, who recently returned to the win column by defeating Roman Kopylov at UFC 318, had a final message for Chimaev. "Motherf*cker, look, you know who I am. I'm coming for you," Costa said. "You can hide as much as you want. I know how to fight you. You're going to rush as you always do. You're going to do your sh*t thing. You're going to shoot on my legs. I know that, I expect that, I'm ready for that, but then guess what? We have five rounds. "I'm going to (make) you pay for every time you shoot on my legs. That's what my coach Eric (Albaraccin) taught me to do. I'm going to make you pay. Then when we're back on the feet, I'm going to hurt you so badly you want to give up, but I will not let you give up. I will hurt you until the referee stops the f*cking fight. I'm coming for you. I will defeat you."
New York Post
11 minutes ago
- New York Post
Coco Gauff shockingly fires coaches right before 2025 US Open
American tennis star Coco Gauff has parted ways with her coaches Matt Daly and J.C. Faurel and brought on biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan, according to multiple reports. Gauff, 21, who has struggled with her serve since her first-round defeat at Wimbledon last month, made the coaching shift days before the start of the first round at the U.S. Open. MacMillan previously worked with current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to fix her serve and founded the Sport Science Lab — a company that specializes in sports performance, physical rehabilitation and general fitness. Advertisement Coco Gauff in action against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the quarter-final on Day 9 of the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 15, 2025 in Mason, Ohio Getty Images MacMillan was on the court as Gauff was hitting with Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at Arthur Ashe Stadium Wednesday morning. 'A lot of things add up and this could be a really good relationship,' ESPN's Darren Cahill said of MacMillan. 'He's very thorough … I've spoken to him many, many times before and the fact that he's got experience with different athletes from different sports, both male and female, he uses the new technology, he goes to the video a lot, really breaks down the biomechanics.' Advertisement Gauff's coaching shakeup comes after she has struggled with her serve throughout most of the year. She is coming off a quarterfinal loss at the Cincinnati Open to Italy's Jasmine Paolini in straight sets, in which the two-time Grand Slam winner hit 62 unforced errors. Coco Gauff of the United States plays a backhand during the match against Lucia Bronzetti of Italy during Day 8 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 14, 2025 in Mason, Ohio. Getty Images Advertisement Last year, Gauff parted ways with her former coach Brad Gilbert following her fourth-round exit at the U.S. Open, where she failed to defend her 2023 title. Gauff won the French Open in May.
San Francisco Chronicle
11 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Olympic equestrian rider Schwizer suspended from Swiss team for financial legal issues
BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Three-time Olympic equestrian rider Pius Schwizer was suspended from the Swiss national team Wednesday while he faces legal issues for alleged financial debts. The 63-year-old Schwizer competed for Switzerland at the Paris Olympics one year ago in team jumping at Versailles and was in the team that took bronze at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. The Swiss equestrian federation cited media reports in recent days of legal matters faced by the rider who was the world No. 1 in jumping in 2010. 'Pius Schwizer's current situation is no longer compatible with the demands necessary to represent Switzerland at the highest level as a Swiss team member,' the federation said, adding he can still compete as an independent individual. ___
