{"id":468251,"date":"2021-04-05T04:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T11:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=468251"},"modified":"2021-04-04T09:51:22","modified_gmt":"2021-04-04T16:51:22","slug":"swimming-world-present-lilly-king-ever-the-competitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-present-lilly-king-ever-the-competitor\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Present – Lilly King: Ever The Competitor"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/em><\/span>
\nis now available for download in the<\/span> Swimming World Vault<\/span><\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n

Non-Subscribers Can Download This Issue Here <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Lilly King: Ever The Competitor<\/span><\/h1>\n

By David Rieder
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s still a winner, a dominant force in sprint breaststroke.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2014and specifically, the women\u2019s 100 breast semifinals on Aug. 7, 2016, and the final the next day.<\/p>\n

Almost five years later, King\u2019s name is synonymous with that particular race.<\/p>\n

King was 19 and competing in her first international meet, and she told the world that she didn\u2019t think Russia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

A rivalry instantly materialized.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially now that it\u2019s five years later, it\u2019s insane to me. I think about how young I was. Who let me go to the Olympics?\u201d King said. \u201cI was blissfully ignorant the whole time. I was so new to it that I didn\u2019t understand what was going on. I didn\u2019t understand what I had done. I didn\u2019t understand the scale of what I had said. I didn\u2019t understand the scale that it would grow to.\u201d<\/p>\n

That night, King returned to the Olympic Village, thinking nothing of her words. That\u2019s when she realized her story had exploded and she had gained 40,000 Instagram followers in the span of a couple hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nuts,\u201d King said. \u201cIt was a very early public introduction for me. \u2018I\u2019m going to create the biggest spectacle I can, on the largest scale. I\u2019m going to make this the hardest race anyone could ever win, and I\u2019m going to go out there and win.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a big, pivotal moment for women in sports, in my opinion, because you see this whole group of super strong females, and they\u2019re speaking their mind, and they\u2019re fighting for equal pay,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not besties, obviously, but I do love to race her,\u201d King said. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing that will never change. I love racing her.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nTo read more about fierce competitor Lilly King,
\nClick here to download the April 2021 issue of Swimming World now!<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Swimming<\/a><\/p>\n

[PHOTO CREDIT: MINE KASAPOGLU\/ISL]<\/p>\n

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<\/h1>\n

Swimming World April 2021 Issue<\/span><\/h1>\n

FEATURES<\/p>\n

012 A PANDEMIC PERSPECTIVE FROM MASTERS SWIMMIN<\/span>G<\/strong>
\nby Dan D\u2019Addona<\/strong>
\nMasters 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.<\/p>\n

017 DEATH, TAXES…AND INDIAN RIVER!<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Andy Ross<\/strong>
\nIndian River State College will be shooting for its 47th straight men\u2019s and 39th consecutive women\u2019s NJCAA team titles.<\/p>\n

018 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: SPRINT TSAR<\/strong><\/span>
\nby John Lohn<\/strong>
\nAs Swimming World continues its \u201cTakeoff to Tokyo\u201d series, the opportunity to examine the career of Russia\u2019s Alexander Popov\u2014accomplishments and approach\u2014is the chance to pay tribute to a man who might be the greatest sprinter the sport has ever seen.<\/p>\n

021 COUNT ON CHINA<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Dan D\u2019Addona<\/strong>
\nBased on the results of the last eight Olympics\u2014and the most recent World Championships held two years ago\u2014China would be a good bet to once again dominate the diving competition, July 23-Aug. 8, at the 2021 Games in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

022 EVER THE COMPETITOR<\/strong><\/span>
\nby David Rieder<\/strong>
\nFive 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\u2019s still a winner, a dominant force in sprint breaststroke.<\/p>\n

025 THE GREATEST OF THEIR GENERATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Bruce Wigo<\/strong>
\nThe 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.<\/p>\n

028 NUTRITION: FUELING FOR COMPETITION\u2014THE \u201cCHERRY ON TOP!\u201d<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Dawn Weatherwax<\/strong>
\nAthletes 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.<\/p>\n

COACHING<\/p>\n

014 FAST AND FURIOUS<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong>
\nCollege 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.<\/p>\n

038 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: APPLYING MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES TO IMPROVE SWIMMING TECHNIQUE<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Rod Havriluk<\/strong>
\nMany 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.<\/p>\n

043 Q&A WITH COACH MEGAN OESTING<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

044 HOW THEY TRAIN DIGGORY DILLINGHAM<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

TRAINING<\/p>\n

037 DRYSIDE TRAINING: PUSHING POWER<\/strong><\/span>
\nby J.R. Rosania<\/strong><\/p>\n

JUNIOR SWIMMER<\/p>\n

040 GOLDMINDS: LEARN HOW TO BE A RACER<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Wayne Goldsmith<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

047 UP & COMERS: DANIEL DIEHL<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Shoshanna Rutemiller<\/strong><\/p>\n

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS<\/p>\n

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

011 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE STORY OF THE AUMAKUA?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

030 2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

046 DADS ON DECK: BRENT BILQUIST<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

048 GUTTERTALK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

049 PARTING SHOT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n