Lilly King finishes last in final individual swim
NANTERRE, France – Lilly King was not close enough to Kate Douglass to pass the proverbial breaststroke baton.
But in her final individual Olympic swim, the Hoosier icon took satisfaction in seeing her U.S. teammate touch the wall first in the 200-meter breaststroke Thursday night at the Paris Olympics.
“I was actually so far behind, I took a peek before the flags and saw her finish and win,” King said. “That was my little treat in the last five, 10 meters in that race.”
Douglass took the gold medal, lowering the American record to 2:19.24. South Africa’s Tatjana Smith, the defending champion, took silver in 2:19.60.
Tes Schouten of the Netherlands was bronze medalist in 2:21.05. Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova, who has been training in Bloomington, Ind., was fifth in 2:23.75.
King, fifth at 100 meters, was last in the eight-woman final in 2:25.91 — four seconds slower than her time in the Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The 27-year-old Indiana University graduate from Evansville has said this will be her last Olympics, albeit not necessarily her last season. In previous Olympics, she did not make the final of the 200 breaststroke in 2016 and earned silver in 2021 behind Regan Smith’s world record. King retains the 100 breaststroke world record from the 2017
World Championships.
After two Olympic medals in 2016 and three in 2021, King is still seeking her first Paris medal. She will have another chance in the 4x100 medley relay, in which the final is Sunday.
With a group featuring world record-holders on the first three legs — Smith in backstroke, King in breaststroke, Gretchen Walsh in butterfly — the Americans should earn the gold medal . . . and maybe more.
“So it gives us a lot of confidence going in,” King said. “World record or bust! Why not?” She said she was thinking about this being her last individual Olympic swim, and did not seem unhappy about it. She said she would not miss “the way I feel before those races.” And she said U.S. breaststrokers will thrive, led by the versatile Douglass, who has 14 medals from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 World Championships. “We knew she was going to be something special in that event,” King said. “I’m more of a wear-people-out. I think I got kind of worn out tonight.
“Just really excited for her. Glad to see her come into her own.”
This is the second Paris medal for the 22-year-old Douglass, who was on the team earning a silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
Elsewhere Thursday, Notre Dame’s Chris Guiliano was 17th in heats of the 50 freestyle in 21.97, or .03 from qualifying for semifinals.