Lilly King’s Last US Swim Season Announced

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    Lilly King, the renowned American swimmer and three-time Olympic champion, has declared the upcoming Toyota National Championships in Indianapolis as her last competitive event on American soil. Set to take place from Tuesday to Saturday, this meet will serve as a prelude to her retirement, which she plans to formalize by the conclusion of the 2025 season. Expressing her sentiments on Instagram, King, a prominent figure in breaststroke, emphasized the personal significance of swimming her final U.S. race in her home state, within a pool steeped in personal history.

    In her heartfelt post, King announced, “Well, folks, my time has come. 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.” At 28, King holds the world record for the 100-meter breaststroke with an impressive time of 1:04.13, a record she set at the 2017 World Championships. Her illustrious career includes a gold medal in the 100 breast at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, along with relay golds in the same Olympics and her final Olympic event last year in Paris.

    The American women’s 4×100 medley relay team, featuring King as a key member, set a world record time of 3:49.63. Alongside teammates Regan Smith, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske, they triumphed over the defending champions, Australia, an achievement King described as “just an awesome way to cap off the meet.”

    During the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, King secured silver medals in both the 200 breaststroke and the 4×100 medley relay, as well as a bronze in the 100 breast. In Paris, she narrowly missed the podium, finishing just a hundredth of a second behind Ireland’s Mona McSharry, who claimed bronze, in the 100 breast, sharing fourth place with Italy’s Benedetta Pilato with a time of 1:05.60.

    Returning to Indiana for what promises to be an emotional event is particularly meaningful for King. The IU Natatorium in Indianapolis holds a special place in her heart, not least because it was here, during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials last June, that her boyfriend, James Wells, a former Indiana University swimmer, proposed. King eagerly shared the news of her engagement, having joyfully accepted.

    Reflecting on her long relationship with the venue, King wrote, “I have been racing in the IU Natatorium since I was 10 years old. 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.”