One one-hundredth of a second. That was the only difference between history and bitter disappointment for Indiana alum Lilly King in Monday’s 100-meter breaststroke final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
King entered the day with the chance to deliver a first for American Olympic swimmers: A podium finish in the 100-meter breaststroke would have granted her a third Olympic medal in the event, making her the only American to achieve that mark and the second woman to do so.
However, King’s time of 1:05.60 tied her for fourth place, only .01 behind Ireland's Mona McSharry. This will be the first Olympic 100-meter breaststroke event King has failed to medal at, dating back to 2016 when she first raced and won gold in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The path for King began back in June, when she won the 100-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Then, in Paris, she finished third in the semifinals of the 100-meter breaststroke, setting up her fourth-place finish in the finals a day later.
But King’s stay at these Olympics is not over just yet. She still has appearances in the 200-meter breaststroke and the medley relay for Team USA, hoping to add to her tally of five Olympic medals.
