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Lilly King: Ever The Competitor
By David Rieder
Five years after her public introduction to the world at the Rio Olympics, little has changed about Lilly King. She will still speak her mind, tell you how she really feels, and she’s still a winner, a dominant force in sprint breaststroke.
Lilly King has put together a remarkable swimming career in the years since, and she could continue dominating for years to come, but she knows she may never escape the memory of the Rio Olympics—and specifically, the women’s 100 breast semifinals on Aug. 7, 2016, and the final the next day.
Almost five years later, King’s name is synonymous with that particular race.
King was 19 and competing in her first international meet, and she told the world that she didn’t think Russia’s Yulia Efimova, her chief competitor for the gold medal, should be competing at the Olympics because of her doping history. During the semifinals, Efimova raised her finger as she recorded the top time in the first semifinal, and as King watched in the ready room, cameras captured her waving her finger back at Efimova.
A rivalry instantly materialized.
“Especially now that it’s five years later, it’s insane to me. I think about how young I was. Who let me go to the Olympics?” King said. “I was blissfully ignorant the whole time. I was so new to it that I didn’t understand what was going on. I didn’t understand what I had done. I didn’t understand the scale of what I had said. I didn’t understand the scale that it would grow to.”
That night, King returned to the Olympic Village, thinking nothing of her words. That’s when she realized her story had exploded and she had gained 40,000 Instagram followers in the span of a couple hours.
“It was nuts,” King said. “It was a very early public introduction for me. ‘I’m going to create the biggest spectacle I can, on the largest scale. I’m going to make this the hardest race anyone could ever win, and I’m going to go out there and win.’”
Thankfully for King, everything worked out in the pool the following night. She won the final in 1:04.93, topping Efimova by more than a half-second and setting an Olympic record. The exuberant teenager splashed the water in celebration and barely acknowledged Efimova.
In the aftermath, many accused King of poor sportsmanship because she publicly criticized Efimova. She was labeled a bully. Even years later, King will have none of it. She sees a double standard in public expectations for male professional athletes versus females. King believes that if a prominent male athlete were to take a stand on an issue he felt passionate about, he would have been celebrated for his confidence and bravery, rather than chastised for being cocky and obnoxious.
King has seen improvement in recent years in the way female athletes are viewed when they speak their minds on important issues. She thinks the U.S. women’s soccer team paved the way for that change when they won the 2019 FIFA World Cup while in a dispute with their own national federation.
“That was a big, pivotal moment for women in sports, in my opinion, because you see this whole group of super strong females, and they’re speaking their mind, and they’re fighting for equal pay,” King said.
Others, including Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and Olympic gold medalist swimmer Simone Manuel, have become more outspoken about issues they are passionate about, notably racial justice, and King sees that as positive progress, that strong female athletes are using their voices to impact change.
As for King and Efimova, that relationship has thawed significantly in the years since Rio. One year later at the FINA World Championships, the two congratulated each other after King again took gold in the 100 breast, breaking her first world record in the process. And year after year, King still looks forward to the opportunities to race Efimova because she knows their clashes will bring out her best.
“We’re not besties, obviously, but I do love to race her,” King said. “That’s one thing that will never change. I love racing her.”
[PHOTO CREDIT: MINE KASAPOGLU/ISL]
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Swimming World April 2021 Issue
FEATURES
012 A PANDEMIC PERSPECTIVE FROM MASTERS SWIMMING
by Dan D’Addona
Masters swimmers maintain a connection to the sport they love as well as to their team and community. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that connection has been missing the past year, but they are ready to face the challenges that lie ahead.
017 DEATH, TAXES…AND INDIAN RIVER!
by Andy Ross
Indian River State College will be shooting for its 47th straight men’s and 39th consecutive women’s NJCAA team titles.
018 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: SPRINT TSAR
by John Lohn
As Swimming World continues its “Takeoff to Tokyo” series, the opportunity to examine the career of Russia’s Alexander Popov—accomplishments and approach—is the chance to pay tribute to a man who might be the greatest sprinter the sport has ever seen.
021 COUNT ON CHINA
by Dan D’Addona
Based on the results of the last eight Olympics—and the most recent World Championships held two years ago—China would be a good bet to once again dominate the diving competition, July 23-Aug. 8, at the 2021 Games in Tokyo.
022 EVER THE COMPETITOR
by David Rieder
Five years after her public introduction to the world at the Rio Olympics, little has changed about Lilly King. She will still speak her mind, tell you how she really feels, and she’s still a winner, a dominant force in sprint breaststroke.
025 THE GREATEST OF THEIR GENERATION
by Bruce Wigo
The General Slocum steamship disaster in 1904, the tragedy that changed swimming history, had an impact on two of the greatest swimming heroes of all time, Johnny Weissmuller and Charles Robert Drew.
028 NUTRITION: FUELING FOR COMPETITION—THE “CHERRY ON TOP!”
by Dawn Weatherwax
Athletes spend hours upon hours training. It is now time to put the sports nutrition piece all together when it matters most. A big part of the plan is to know what, when and how much to eat and drink before, during and after the event.
COACHING
014 FAST AND FURIOUS
by Michael J. Stott
College coaches Braden Holloway (NC State), Todd DeSorbo (Virginia), Matt Kredich (Tennessee) and Jessen Book (Kenyon) share their ideas on how they help their swimmers maximize turn speed.
038 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: APPLYING MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES TO IMPROVE SWIMMING TECHNIQUE
by Rod Havriluk
Many swimmers attempt to swim faster by modeling the technique of the fastest swimmers. Using champions as models is an archaic approach of painstakingly slow, trial-and-error that risks adopting technique limitations. A far superior approach is to apply mechanical principles that eliminate uncertainty and accelerate the skill-learning process.
043 Q&A WITH COACH MEGAN OESTING
by Michael J. Stott
044 HOW THEY TRAIN DIGGORY DILLINGHAM
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
037 DRYSIDE TRAINING: PUSHING POWER
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
040 GOLDMINDS: LEARN HOW TO BE A RACER
by Wayne Goldsmith
It’s important to learn how to swim your event in such a way that you can perform to your potential in every possible racing situation, including different strategies for heats, semifinals and finals.
047 UP & COMERS: DANIEL DIEHL
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
011 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE STORY OF THE AUMAKUA?
030 2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY
046 DADS ON DECK: BRENT BILQUIST
048 GUTTERTALK
049 PARTING SHOT
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