Paris Olympics: Lilly King misses podium by .01 in 100-meter breaststroke

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PARIS — Lilly King, confidence shaken, former self distant, fell .01 seconds short of a medal here at the 2024 Olympics on Monday, finishing tied-for-fourth in the race she once owned.

King, a 27-year-old American star, swam the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:05.60 seconds, a bit off South African Tatjana Smith's gold medal-winning pace (1:05.28).

After a rough first 50 meters, though, which left her in seventh place of eight, King pushed toward the wall, and positioned herself for silver. Then her technique "kinda fell apart the last 10 meters," she later explained. She touched .06 seconds after China's Qianting Tang and, narrowly, .01 after Ireland’s Mona McSharry.

So she missed the podium, in her signature event, in what she has said will be her third and final Olympics.

She walked off the pool deck, up a few steps, down broadcast row, past cameras and medalists.

Three years earlier, she would’ve been devastated, but here, minutes later, she spoke with the perspective of a woman who has learned to savor precious moments on stages like these, even in defeat.

“This race happened three years ago, and it completely broke me,” she said, referencing a 2021 Olympic bronze. “I don't feel broken tonight.”

It was eight years ago, of course, when King became a household name with finger-wagging and gold-medal winning and swagger. She entered the 2021 Olympics as the undisputed queen of the 100, unbeaten in five years. Her brash confidence was unshakable and legendary.

But in Tokyo, a 17-year-old Alaskan shook it. Lydia Jacoby stunned King in the 100 breast. King still won three medals at those Games, but her invincibility had been deflated. Her aura faded. “​​My confidence took a major, major hit,” she’d say later.

For three years, she tried to rebuild it. But doing so was far easier said than done. “That's been something that I have probably had to work the hardest on since 2021, just kinda getting back to that monster version of Lilly that walks out before the race,” she said.

As Paris approached, she was still working on the rebuild. Her fourth-place finish at world championships last summer hadn’t helped. “To say I'm at the confidence level I was in 2021 would be just a flat-out lie,” she said after qualifying for these Games at U.S. trials. “Going into 2021, I pretty much felt invincible. Going into 2016, I pretty much felt invincible.” Going into 2024, she very much did not.

She did, though, feel good heading into Monday night. She walked out to the starting blocks with a half-smile and several waves. She had a lane, and a shot, in one of the more unpredictable races at this meet. She was also determined to “kinda take in the moment, and enjoy the process, which I definitely wasn't doing three years ago.”

So, did she enjoy it?

“Um, well, the beginning yeah,” King said. “But not the end.” She laughed.

She was not, though, distraught. “I'm really still just proud of the work that I put in, and the growth I've been able to have in this sport,” she said. “And hopefully the influence I've been able to have on younger swimmers.”

Next, she said, she would “kinda roll with it from there,” into the 200-meter breaststroke on Wednesday and Thursday.

That will be her final shot at an individual Olympic medal. Her final opportunity to bring a glorious Olympic career to a close in the same way it started.