Lilly King
Lillia Camille “Lilly” King (born February 10, 1997) is an American Olympic swimmer from Evansville, Indiana, widely regarded as one of the greatest breaststroke swimmers in American history.
King represented the United States at three Olympic Games — Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024 — winning six Olympic medals: three gold, two silver and one bronze. She also became a multiple-time world champion, world-record holder and one of the most decorated swimmers in Indiana University history.
King retired from competitive swimming in 2025 following the World Aquatics Championships, completing a career that took her from the public swimming pools of Evansville to the top of the Olympic podium.
Early Life in Evansville
King was born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, in an athletic family. Her father, Mark King, competed in track and cross-country at Indiana State University, while her mother, Ginny, was a collegiate swimmer.
King began swimming at approximately seven years old and eventually developed into a breaststroke specialist.
She trained locally with the Newburgh Sea Creatures and attended F.J. Reitz High School on Evansville’s West Side.
Her path to becoming an Olympic champion was considerably different from that of swimmers who grew up training in elite swimming facilities. Reitz practiced at Lloyd Pool, which was shared by several Evansville high school swimming programs.
Despite the limited training space, King began establishing herself as one of the country’s best young breaststroke swimmers.
Reitz High School
King graduated from F.J. Reitz High School in 2015.
While swimming for Reitz, King developed into a nationally recognized prospect. At age 16, she won a junior national championship in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming 59.67 and setting a National Age Group record.
In 2014, King represented the United States at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, winning gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and another gold as part of the 4×100-meter medley relay.
Her success earned her a scholarship to continue swimming at Indiana University.
Indiana University
King enrolled at Indiana University in 2015 and quickly became one of the most dominant swimmers in NCAA history.
As a freshman, she won NCAA championships in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke, setting American and NCAA records.
She continued that dominance throughout her four-year collegiate career.
King won the NCAA championship in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke in each of her four seasons at Indiana, giving her eight individual NCAA championships.
She became the first woman in NCAA history to win four consecutive championships in the 100 breaststroke and the first woman to win eight NCAA breaststroke championships.
As a senior in 2019, King won the 100-yard breaststroke in 55.73 seconds, setting American, NCAA, U.S. Open, Big Ten and Indiana University records.
She was also a multiple-time Big Ten champion, All-American and Indiana University Female Athlete of the Year.
By the time her college career ended, King had established herself as one of the greatest swimmers in the history of Indiana University athletics.
2016 Rio Olympics
King’s international breakthrough came while she was still a teenager.
After her freshman season at Indiana, the 19-year-old King qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke.
Her 100-meter breaststroke competition became one of the most memorable swimming stories of the Rio Olympics.
King publicly criticized doping in swimming and became involved in a highly publicized rivalry with Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, who had previously served a doping suspension.
During the Olympic semifinals, television cameras captured King watching Efimova raise a finger after winning her heat. King responded by wagging her own finger at the television screen.
The moment became one of the defining images of the 2016 Olympics.
King backed up her confidence in the pool.
In the final, she defeated Efimova and won the Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, setting an Olympic record of 1:04.93.
King later earned a second gold medal as a member of the United States 4×100-meter medley relay team.
She returned to Evansville as an Olympic champion at only 19 years old.
World Record
King continued dominating the 100-meter breaststroke following the Rio Olympics.
At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, King won the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:04.13, setting a world record.
She also won world championships in the 50-meter breaststroke and relay events.
King became one of the dominant figures in international breaststroke swimming and accumulated numerous World Championship medals during her career.
Tokyo Olympics
King returned to the Olympics for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, held in 2021.
She entered Tokyo as the defending Olympic champion in the 100-meter breaststroke.
King won three medals:
- Silver — 200-meter breaststroke
- Silver — 4×100-meter medley relay
- Bronze — 100-meter breaststroke
The three medals brought her career Olympic total to five.
2024 Paris Olympics
King qualified for her third U.S. Olympic team in 2024.
At the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, she qualified in both the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke, becoming the first American swimmer to qualify for three Olympic teams in both breaststroke distances.
King had previously announced that Paris would be her final Olympic Games.
She finished tied for fourth in the 100-meter breaststroke and eighth in the 200-meter breaststroke.
Her final Olympic race, however, provided a storybook ending.
King swam as part of the United States women’s 4×100-meter medley relay, helping Team USA win the gold medal.
The American team finished in 3:49.63, setting a new world record.
King therefore ended her Olympic career exactly as she had begun it eight years earlier — winning a gold medal.
Olympic Career
Across three Olympic Games, King won six medals:
2016 Rio de Janeiro
- Gold — 100-meter breaststroke
- Gold — 4×100-meter medley relay
2020 Tokyo
- Silver — 200-meter breaststroke
- Silver — 4×100-meter medley relay
- Bronze — 100-meter breaststroke
2024 Paris
- Gold — 4×100-meter medley relay
Her Olympic career ended with three gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal.
World Championships
King was equally successful outside the Olympics.
At the World Aquatics Championships, she won 12 gold medals and 14 total medals across individual and relay events.
Her international career included world championships in all three breaststroke distances — 50 meters, 100 meters and 200 meters — along with numerous relay championships.
She also competed successfully at the World Short Course Championships, Pan Pacific Championships and other major international competitions.
Advocacy for Clean Sport
King became known not only for her swimming but also for being one of the sport’s most outspoken advocates for clean competition and stronger anti-doping enforcement.
Her willingness to publicly criticize athletes who had served doping suspensions became a defining part of her public image, particularly during the 2016 Olympics.
King’s confidence, competitiveness and willingness to speak openly made her one of the most recognizable personalities in American swimming during her era.
Retirement
King announced that the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore would be the final competition of her career.
She completed her final race in August 2025, officially retiring from competitive swimming at age 28.
Her career included three Olympic Games, six Olympic medals, numerous world championships, world records and eight individual NCAA championships.
Evansville Legacy
Despite competing around the world, King has remained strongly associated with her hometown.
Her swimming career began in the Evansville area, where she trained with local teams and competed for Reitz High School before becoming an NCAA and Olympic champion.
Her rise was particularly remarkable because she developed without access to the type of dedicated elite swimming facilities available to many nationally ranked swimmers. At Reitz, she trained at Lloyd Pool while sharing limited pool space with other Evansville high school programs.
When King became an Olympic sensation in 2016, the Evansville community rallied around her and her family, including local fundraising efforts that helped her family travel to Rio to watch her compete.
King has continued to identify strongly with Indiana and Evansville throughout her career.
From Reitz High School and Lloyd Pool to Indiana University and three Olympic Games, Lilly King’s career represents one of the greatest athletic achievements by an Evansville native.
With six Olympic medals, multiple world championships, world records and one of the greatest collegiate swimming careers in NCAA history, Lilly King ranks among the most accomplished athletes ever produced by Evansville, Indiana.