Meet the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team: Lilly King

Meet 2016 U.S. Olympian Lilly King. King, who will swim at the meet by virtue of winning both the 100 and 200 meter breaststrokes at the U.S. Olympic Trials, is just 19 years old, but already holds the American Records in the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes. In her video, King talks about how a surprise state title when she was 12 years old “changed her swimming path” and put her in a more positive mindset about her potential impact in the sport. She also talks about qualifying for the Olympic Team in 2016 at her first Olympic Trials, and what her experience was in 2012 when she didn’t even qualify for the trials, but was still angry that she wasn’t on the Olympic Team.

From her SwimSwam Bio:

Lily King, a breaststroke specialist from Evansville, Indiana was born on February 10 1997. King started swimming at seven-years-old because she said it was the only thing to calm her down.

The self proclaimed Mcdonalds enthusiast comes from a sporting family. Her father, Mark was a track and cross country runner at Indiana State and her mother Ginny swam for Eastern Kentucky University and Illinois State University.

At 17-years-old, King finished sixth at the 2014 US Nationals and earned her first call up for the national team. She continued to climb the breaststroke ranks and burst on to the collegiate scene as a freshman at Indiana University.