3-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King announces retirement after 2025 season
Decorated American swimmer and breaststroke specialist Lilly King is stepping away from competition after the 2025 Toyota National Championships in June.
On Saturday, King took to Instagram to announce that this season he will be her swan song after initially naming the 2024 Summer Olympics as her last ride.
Advertisement
'Well folks, my time has come,' she captioned a series of pictures from her career. 'This will be my final season competing. I'm fortunate heading into retirement being able to say I have accomplished everything I have ever wanted in this sport. I feel fulfilled.
'That being said, it has always been important to me that my last meet in the US be at the pool that started it all. I have been racing in the IU Natatorium since I was 10 years old,' King continued. '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. See you in Indy!'
Advertisement
The Evansville, Indiana native will swim her final meet in her home state as the top seed in the 100-yard breaststroke and No. 2 seed in the 50-yard breaststroke. Despite winning the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, King will not be competing in the 200-yard breaststroke come June. She also finished eighth in the event in 2024 at the Paris Olympics.
King represented the the U.S. in three Olympic Games, winning gold in the women's 100 breaststroke and the 4×100 medley relay in 2016. It was that 100 breaststroke medal that made King a breakthrough star in Rio, as she famously called out Russia's Yuliya Yefimova over past failed doping tests, then beat her in the pool.
In 2020, King bagged silver in the 200-yard breaststroke, silver in the women's 4×100 medley relay and bronze in the 100-yard breaststroke.
She wrapped up her Olympic career finishing 4th in the 100 breast in Paris after missing the bronze medal by 0.01 seconds. King also swam in a world record performance (3:49.63) in the women's 4×100 medley relay for the Americans. The record-breaking performance capped her final Olympic effort in with gold.
Advertisement
Before turning pro in 2019, King competed at Indiana. As a freshman, she won the NCAA title in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke for the Hoosiers.
King's last meet will be held at the Indiana University Natatorium from June 3-7.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
24 minutes ago
- Fast Company
People are obsessed with the McDonald's Snack Wrap. These files prove it
After nine long years, McDonald's has finally announced the revival of the Snack Wrap, one of its most beloved—and most copied—discontinued menu items. To herald the wrap's return, the brand made an entire digital archive dedicated to documenting fans' fervor for the Snack Wrap. The wrap returns after a number of other fast food chains, including Burger King, Wendy's, Chic-fil-A, and, most recently, Popeyes, have made their own dupes of the item in its absence. McDonald's' attempt to reclaim its Snack Wrap dominance comes as the company continues to face difficult financial headwinds; reporting its second consecutive quarter of sales declines in its first-quarter financial report on May 1. Now, the company is betting on fans' Snack Wrap nostalgia to score a boost this summer. On McDonald's' official website, a cryptic official statement from Joe Erlinger, McDonald's USA president, simply reads, 'It's back.' Accompanying the statement, though, is the link to a website called the Snack Wrap Files that's a wealth of Snack Wrap-based information. Per the site, the Snack Wrap will be made with McDonald's' McCrispy Strips in two flavors: ranch or spicy. It will be available as a combo meal and, at last, it has secured a spot as a permanent menu item. The Snack Wrap Files also serves another purpose: The site, which has a simple, early web vibe, is an archive dedicated to all of the times that McDonald's fans have yearned for the Snack Wrap since 2016. It's back. According to its FAQ section, the Snack Wrap Files was created 'to highlight the bond fans have with the Snack Wrap.' 'The Snack Wrap was phased out nationally in 2016, but it never left fans' hearts,' the website reads. 'From countless social media posts to full-fledged petitions, they never gave up on their favorite menu item. They're the ones who inspired us to make its return to the menu happen.' And McDonald's is dedicated to spinning that return into a dramatic, full-blown campaign. Currently, there are 10 folders on the Snack Wrap Files site, three of which are unlocked for public viewing. A countdown at the top of the page marks the time remaining before the other seven files are unlocked. In the 'Media Materials' folder, users can find official photos of the new Snack Wrap and FAQs about its return. Under 'BTS,' they can take a peek behind the curtain at McDonald's' creative team poring over Snack Wrap ad materials. But 'The Fandom' folder is where the site really shines. Within this section, the McDonald's team has compiled a highlight reel of fans' most fervent pleas for the Snack Wrap's return. Some are on the tamer side, like an email that reads, 'Is it true you're bringing back the Snack Wrap??!! I will be so excited!!!!!!' and another sharing, 'In fact I am 13 weeks pregnant and my biggest craving is something I can't have. I am due July 14th, 2025. Will snack wraps be back before then? Please just give me a hint.' Others take a more desperate tone. 'Where is the snack wrap. You guys promised me 2025, it is 2025. I do not see the snack wrap. Please get back to me, this is an important matter,' reads one inquiry. 'When the snack wraps are dropped I'm going to do a challenge where I try and eat 1,000 in a calendar year,' another says. 'If I record myself and post it on tik tok or something will you give me a reward?' One emailer resorted to a direct threat: 'I hope you're not playing with our emotions because I swear to god the people of the US will riot if you pull the rug from underneath us!' Whew. In three days, 23 hours, and 40 minutes (at the time of this writing), the Snack Wrap Files' cryptic 'Reaction Clips,' 'Merch Concepts,' 'Internal Emails,' 'Promo Codes,' 'Playlist,' 'Voice Note,' and 'Credits' folders will be unlocked.
Fox News
26 minutes ago
- Fox News
Peter Doocy, Jacqui Heinrich share shock over Karine Jean-Pierre ditching Democrats: 'She was wrong'
All times eastern Making Money with Charles Payne FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage WATCH LIVE: Will Cain reacts to political news of the day with Tim Pool
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What the Trump travel ban means for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games
GENEVA (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump often says the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are among the events he is most excited about in his second term. Yet there is significant uncertainty regarding visa policies for foreign visitors planning trips to the U.S. for the two biggest events in sports. Trump's latest travel ban on citizens from 12 countries added new questions about the impact on the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, which depend on hosts opening their doors to the world. Here's a look at the potential effects of the travel ban on those events. What is the travel ban policy? When Sunday ticks over to Monday, citizens of 12 countries should be banned from entering the U.S. They are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Tighter restrictions will apply to visitors from seven more: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Trump said some countries had 'deficient' screening and vetting processes or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. How does it affect the World Cup and Olympics? Iran, a soccer power in Asia, is the only targeted country to qualify so far for the World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico in one year's time. Cuba, Haiti and Sudan are in contention. Sierra Leone might stay involved through multiple playoff games. Burundi, Equatorial Guinea and Libya have very outside shots. But all should be able to send teams to the World Cup if they qualify because the new policy makes exceptions for 'any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state.' About 200 countries could send athletes to the Summer Games, including those targeted by the latest travel restrictions. The exceptions should apply to them as well if the ban is still in place in its current form. What about fans? The travel ban doesn't mention any exceptions for fans from the targeted countries wishing to travel to the U.S. for the World Cup or Olympics. Even before the travel ban, fans of the Iran soccer team living in that country already had issues about getting a visa for a World Cup visit. Still, national team supporters often profile differently to fans of club teams who go abroad for games in international competitions like the UEFA Champions League. For many countries, fans traveling to the World Cup — an expensive travel plan with hiked flight and hotel prices — are often from the diaspora, wealthier, and could have different passport options. A World Cup visitor is broadly higher-spending and lower-risk for host nation security planning. Visitors to an Olympics are often even higher-end clients, though tourism for a Summer Games is significantly less than at a World Cup, with fewer still from most of the 19 countries now targeted. How is the U.S. working with FIFA, Olympic officials? FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly built close ties since 2018 to Trump — too close according to some. He has cited the need to ensure FIFA's smooth operations at a tournament that will earn a big majority of the soccer body's expected $13 billion revenue from 2023-26. Infantino sat next to Trump at the White House task force meeting on May 6 which prominently included Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. FIFA's top delegate on the task force is Infantino ally Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs partner whose two-year run as U.S. Soccer Federation president ended in controversy in 2020. Any visa and security issues FIFA faces — including at the 32-team Club World Cup that kicks off next week in Miami — can help LA Olympics organizers finesse their plans. 'I don't anticipate any, any problems from any countries to come and participate,' LA Games chairman Casey Wasserman told International Olympic Committee officials in March. He revealed then, at an IOC meeting in Greece, two discreet meetings with Trump and noted the State Department has a 'fully staffed desk' to help prepare for short-notice visa processing in the summer of 2028 — albeit with a focus on teams rather than fans. 'Irrespective of politics today,' Wasserman said in March, 'America will be open and accepting to all 209 countries for the Olympics.' FIFA and the IOC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the new Trump travel ban. What have other host nations done? The 2018 World Cup host Russia let fans enter the country with a game ticket doubling as their visa. So did Qatar four years later. Both governments, however, also performed background checks on all visitors coming to the month-long soccer tournaments. Governments have refused entry to unwelcome visitors. For the 2012 London Olympics, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko — who is still its authoritarian leader today — was denied a visa despite also leading its national Olympic body. The IOC also suspended him from the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. ___ AP soccer: and AP Olympics at
