NANTERRE, France — Lilly King wanted another gold medal, of course. Can never have too many of those.
But even in finishing last in her last individual Olympic swim, she took satisfaction in seeing American teammate Kate Douglass take gold in the 200-meter breaststroke Thursday night at the Paris Olympics.
“I was actually so far behind, I took a peek before the flags and saw her finish and win,” King said. “That was my little treat in the last five, 10 meters in that race.”
Douglass took the gold medal, lowering the American record to 2:19.24. South Africa’s Tatjana Smith, the defending champion, took silver in 2:19.60.
Tes Schouten of the Netherlands was bronze medalist in 2:21.05. Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova, who has been training in Bloomington, Ind., was fifth in 2:23.75.
King, fifth at 100 meters, was last in the eight-woman final in 2:25.91 – four seconds slower than her time in the Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The 27-year-old Indiana University graduate from Evansville has said this will be her last Olympics, albeit not necessarily her last season.
In previous Olympics, she did not make the final of the 200 breaststroke in 2016 and earned silver in 2021 behind Smith’s world record. King retains the 100 breaststroke world record from the 2017 World Championships.
After two Olympic medals in 2016 and three in 2021, King is still seeking her first Paris medal. She will have another chance in the 4x100 medley relay, in which the final is Sunday.
With a group featuring world record-holders on the first three legs – Regan Smith in backstroke, King in breaststroke, Gretchen Walsh in butterfly – the Americans should earn the gold medal... and maybe more.
“So it gives us a lot of confidence going in,” King said. “World record or bust! Why not?”
This is the second Paris medal for the 22-year-old Douglas, who was on the team earning a silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
Elsewhere Thursday, Notre Dame’s Chris Guiliano was 17th in heats of the 50 freestyle in 21.97, or .03 from qualifying for semifinals.
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.