INDIANAPOLIS — Lilly King had another memorable night on a big stage that continued outside the pool.
King rallied over the final 25 meters to take second place to Kate Douglass in the 200-meter breaststroke and earn her place in another event in Paris. She was third as the swimmers made their turn into the final 50 meters, trailing Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh, with the top two finishers earning an Olympic spot.
But the Olympic champion surged past Walsh down the stretch, finishing in 2:21.93. Walsh finished third in a time of 2:22.38.
King will be the first U.S. swimmer to swim in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke competition in three straight Olympic Games.
But the excitement for King didn't end in the pool.
Moments after the race, she said "yes" to a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, James Wells, on the pool deck at Lucas Oil Stadium.
"Lilly did the bid for this pool and having this be in her home state is so incredible," said Wells, who swam with King at Indiana University. "This is such a powerful swimming state and it just means so much to her to be here in front of this crowd, so I was like, that's the perfect opportunity to do that."
Her fellow Olympians were also swept up in the moment. Douglass walked by the proposal as she left the pool area, smiling wide with her hands to her face. NBC's cameras also caught Regan Smith watching backstage, moments before she returned to the pool.
“I didn’t see it” said Ryan Murphy, who will represent the United States in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. “That’s unbelievable. I’d love to hear her reaction to how it is to get proposed to completely out of breath and soaked. That’s incredible. She must be riding an absolute high.”
Shackell secures her spot
Alex Shackell is officially an Olympian.
The Carmel teenager was already expected to land a spot on Team USA after her sixth-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Swim Trials, but locked in that spot with a second-place result in the 200-meter butterfly Thursday night.
Shackell, 17, touched in 2:06.69, finishing second to Regan Smith, ensuring her place in the Summer Olympics.
She joins her brother, Aaron, who became the first American to qualify for the Games with a win in the 400-meter freestyle Saturday night.
Shackell is the first swimmer to reach the Olympics out of Carmel High School's girls swimming program, which has won 38 consecutive state titles.
Guiliano stays hot
A pair of Notre Dame swimmers also took to the pool Thursday night.
Chris Guiliano, who won the 100-meter freestyle final Wednesday, qualified for Friday's final in the 50-meter freestyle, posting the fastest time in Thursday's semifinals. Guiliano recorded a time of 21.59, two-hundredths of a second faster than Caeleb Dressel, the defending gold medalist in the event.
Tommy Janton finished fourth in the men's 200-meter backstroke final.