Performance Of The Week: Lilly King’s 100 Breaststroke

lilly-king-
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Lilly King had the meet of her life this past week at the Women’s Division I NCAA Championships, becoming the first Hoosier to capture two individual national championship titles in the school’s history when she won the 100 and 200 breaststroke in NCAA and American record-breaking fashion. While both of her records were historic and somewhat mind boggling, the Performance of the Week has to go to her 100-yard breaststroke, where she became the first woman to break the 57-second barrier en route to capturing the title.

The freshman from Indiana has improved dramatically this year, coming into her first collegiate season with a best of 59.63 from the Indiana High School Girls State Championships. Hitting a 1:06.69 long course swim at 2015 Summer Nationals signaled she was set up for a good short course season, but nobody could have predicted the year she had. Hitting a 57.35 at Big 10’s that just barely missed Breeja Larson’s American and NCAA record of 57.23, King made it official in prelims of NCAA’s when she posted a 57.15 to sneak by the record.

Later that night, King made history again by becoming the first woman under 57-seconds in the 100 yard breaststroke, something she has had her sights on all year. While she still has three more NCAA’s in front of her, this swim sets up King to be only the second woman to complete a career sweep of the event through her collegiate career. Stanford’s Tara Kirk, the long-time American record holder before Larson with a 57.77, won the event from 2001-2004. As someone who fancies herself a long-course swimmer who is a veritable “swim geek” (her words, not ours!), Lilly King is surely one to watch this summer at Olympic Trials.

Congratulations Lilly King on earning Swimming World’s Performance of the Week!

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