Wednesday, December 23, 2020
How a Brief Pause Kept Lilly King Going
Lilly King felt a rush of excitement on Jan. 1, 2016, as she headed into the final months of preparing for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, at which she won two gold medals.
But when Jan. 1, 2020, came, she didn’t feel the same emotion about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a reaction that disappointed her. King was in position to win four gold medals, but she was instead thinking about the break she would be able to take after the games.
The prior months left her feeling that way.
King’s 2019 was filled with many high-stakes meets: the Division I NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship, the World Aquatics Championships, and the first year of the International Swimming League. She also was student teaching full-time to complete her degree.
“I just kept going and going and going,” King said. “I never stopped to catch my breath.”
But then came the coronavirus pandemic, which forced pools across the country to shut down and the Olympics to be postponed to 2021. King said she took a week off and then “started to kind of lose my mind.” She and the rest of the pro group she trains with at Indiana University, which she swam for while in college, began looking for places to work out.
The group’s journey included a one-lane residential pool about 80 minutes away in Indianapolis, a pond filled with snapping turtles and King’s old pool in Evansville, Ill., one that “needs to be condemned in the worst way,” said Ray Looze, King’s current coach and Indiana’s head coach, who recalled water pouring from a light while it was raining during a practice.
The experience rejuvenated her.
“It was good to just go swim somewhere else,” King said. “Obviously, [we’re] super lucky to be training in the pool we are [at Indiana], but the fact is it’s nice to get outside somewhere different and have fun with the sort of summer league experience.
“I honestly think, as horrible as the pandemic has been, it helped just because it let me take a step back and realize how lucky I was to be doing what I’m doing and where I’m doing it and having the opportunity to train where I do with the people I do every day.”
King competed in the ISL’s second season in November, a return to racing that she described as nerve-racking. She recalled wondering whether she would remember how to race after not doing so for several months.
She resoundingly proved she did. King set four Short-course-meter American records and one world record and finished second to two-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel in the Match MVP standings.
“She’s really reinvigorated,” Looze said. “She’s excited. She’s really focused, really working hard. I’m seeing the best of Lilly King right now, an experienced veteran that’s still got the fire burning in the belly. I love everything I’m seeing out of Lilly right now.”
King is now shifting her focus to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, at which she hopes to qualify for the Olympics in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, something she did in 2016.
She seems a lock to qualify in the 100. She’s the world record–holder and defending Olympic gold medalist in the event, in which she recorded the fastest time in the world in 2019 by nearly nine-tenths of a second when she went 1:05.65 last December.
Qualifying in the 200 figures to be more challenging.
Her 2:22.63 ranked second among Americans last year, six-tenths of a second behind Emily Escobedo, and was nearly a second slower than this year’s world-leading 2:21.67 swum by Annie Lazor, who trains with King at Indiana. U.S. National Teamers Bethany Galat, Molly Hannis (who qualified for the Olympics in 2016 in the 200) and Micah Sumrall are also major contenders for the two Olympic berths in the event.
“It’s just going to come down to who shows up on the right day,” Looze said. “They’re all right in there at 2:20 to 2:21. We have great respect for all of those swimmers.”
King hopes to also swim the 4x100 women’s medley and the 4x100 mixed medley relays at the Olympics and, with the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, double her gold medal count from 2016.
“Four gold medals, that’s the goal,” King said. “I want to win races.”
Struggling with swimming?
All types of swimmers, whether they’re just starting with a USA Swimming program or are a world record–holder, face struggles. Sometimes they’ll need daily pick-me-ups from teammates during difficult training weeks or feel a lack of motivation stemming from being burned out.
If you’re struggling, two-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King offers the following advice:
Daily pick-me-ups. “I think the thing that works for me the best is surrounding myself with the people who really want to be at practice, the people who want to get better, the people who want to work hard to be the best swimmer they can be—and that’s not necessarily the fastest person on the team always. It could be one of the worst people on the team, but if they have a positive attitude and a positive mindset, that carries a lot at practice and that’s someone who I want to surround myself with. For example, one of my teammates, we always show up to practice and we’re dancing on deck before practice starts. It’s just something as stupid as that, just a little bit of messing around, dancing on the pool deck before we do warm-up, can turn my mood around. Just finding your person that can help you through those bad days and really change your mood is really important to find, I think.”
Burnout. “If you feel burned out, go get a new sport. You’re in middle school, high school, it’s not a big deal, it’s not the end of the world. You’re still being active and you’re playing other sports for two, three months. Go for it. I think it’s good to help develop yourself as a better athlete. You feel like you need a break, go ahead and take your break.”
But when Jan. 1, 2020, came, she didn’t feel the same emotion about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a reaction that disappointed her. King was in position to win four gold medals, but she was instead thinking about the break she would be able to take after the games.
The prior months left her feeling that way.
King’s 2019 was filled with many high-stakes meets: the Division I NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship, the World Aquatics Championships, and the first year of the International Swimming League. She also was student teaching full-time to complete her degree.
“I just kept going and going and going,” King said. “I never stopped to catch my breath.”
But then came the coronavirus pandemic, which forced pools across the country to shut down and the Olympics to be postponed to 2021. King said she took a week off and then “started to kind of lose my mind.” She and the rest of the pro group she trains with at Indiana University, which she swam for while in college, began looking for places to work out.
The group’s journey included a one-lane residential pool about 80 minutes away in Indianapolis, a pond filled with snapping turtles and King’s old pool in Evansville, Ill., one that “needs to be condemned in the worst way,” said Ray Looze, King’s current coach and Indiana’s head coach, who recalled water pouring from a light while it was raining during a practice.
The experience rejuvenated her.
“It was good to just go swim somewhere else,” King said. “Obviously, [we’re] super lucky to be training in the pool we are [at Indiana], but the fact is it’s nice to get outside somewhere different and have fun with the sort of summer league experience.
“I honestly think, as horrible as the pandemic has been, it helped just because it let me take a step back and realize how lucky I was to be doing what I’m doing and where I’m doing it and having the opportunity to train where I do with the people I do every day.”
King competed in the ISL’s second season in November, a return to racing that she described as nerve-racking. She recalled wondering whether she would remember how to race after not doing so for several months.
She resoundingly proved she did. King set four Short-course-meter American records and one world record and finished second to two-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel in the Match MVP standings.
“She’s really reinvigorated,” Looze said. “She’s excited. She’s really focused, really working hard. I’m seeing the best of Lilly King right now, an experienced veteran that’s still got the fire burning in the belly. I love everything I’m seeing out of Lilly right now.”
King is now shifting her focus to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, at which she hopes to qualify for the Olympics in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, something she did in 2016.
She seems a lock to qualify in the 100. She’s the world record–holder and defending Olympic gold medalist in the event, in which she recorded the fastest time in the world in 2019 by nearly nine-tenths of a second when she went 1:05.65 last December.
Qualifying in the 200 figures to be more challenging.
Her 2:22.63 ranked second among Americans last year, six-tenths of a second behind Emily Escobedo, and was nearly a second slower than this year’s world-leading 2:21.67 swum by Annie Lazor, who trains with King at Indiana. U.S. National Teamers Bethany Galat, Molly Hannis (who qualified for the Olympics in 2016 in the 200) and Micah Sumrall are also major contenders for the two Olympic berths in the event.
“It’s just going to come down to who shows up on the right day,” Looze said. “They’re all right in there at 2:20 to 2:21. We have great respect for all of those swimmers.”
King hopes to also swim the 4x100 women’s medley and the 4x100 mixed medley relays at the Olympics and, with the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, double her gold medal count from 2016.
“Four gold medals, that’s the goal,” King said. “I want to win races.”
Struggling with swimming?
All types of swimmers, whether they’re just starting with a USA Swimming program or are a world record–holder, face struggles. Sometimes they’ll need daily pick-me-ups from teammates during difficult training weeks or feel a lack of motivation stemming from being burned out.
If you’re struggling, two-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King offers the following advice:
Daily pick-me-ups. “I think the thing that works for me the best is surrounding myself with the people who really want to be at practice, the people who want to get better, the people who want to work hard to be the best swimmer they can be—and that’s not necessarily the fastest person on the team always. It could be one of the worst people on the team, but if they have a positive attitude and a positive mindset, that carries a lot at practice and that’s someone who I want to surround myself with. For example, one of my teammates, we always show up to practice and we’re dancing on deck before practice starts. It’s just something as stupid as that, just a little bit of messing around, dancing on the pool deck before we do warm-up, can turn my mood around. Just finding your person that can help you through those bad days and really change your mood is really important to find, I think.”
Burnout. “If you feel burned out, go get a new sport. You’re in middle school, high school, it’s not a big deal, it’s not the end of the world. You’re still being active and you’re playing other sports for two, three months. Go for it. I think it’s good to help develop yourself as a better athlete. You feel like you need a break, go ahead and take your break.”