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Olympic gold medalist Lilly King talks Cali Condors, ISL, success (Includes interview)

Most recently, at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, King won three gold medals and a silver, which included first place wins in the women’s 50 meter breaststroke, the 100 meter breaststroke and 4×100 meter medley relay. “That was great. It felt pretty good,” she said.

She signed up to compete for the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League (ISL). “It’s cool,” she said. “This is my first year being a pro so it’s a really good year to be starting the league. Obviously, our team is pretty legit. It should be very exciting.”

King shared that it is “awesome” to have decorated Olympian Jason Lezak as the General Manager of the Cali Condors. “I grew up watching him. Jason is one of my heroes, so when he called me to be on his team, I was like ‘gee, pull my leg. It was super cool. I am excited to swim for his team.”

When asked what motivates her each day, she said with a sweet laugh, “I hate losing.” “I have to keep that in the back of my head,” she said.

On her plans for the future, she said, “Next summer, at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, I have the potential to win four Olympic medals, which is pretty cool. That’s my end goal right now.”

Regarding the impact of technology on the sport of swimming, King said, “I am a little bit old fashioned. The biomechanics and physiological elements are awesome. Nothing beats putting the time and the work in the pool.”

For recovery purposes, King uses technology such as NormaTec, massage guns, and all the other tools.

As a young child, King remembers going to a swim clinic by Olympian Janet Evans, where she told the swimmers she was never the most talented person, but she outworked everybody, and that’s why she became successful. “That has stuck with me since I was eight years old,” King said.

For young and aspiring swimmers, King said, “Stay true to yourself and put the time in the pool. Talk to your coaches, trust the process and stick to your guns.”

King is regularly featured in the YouTube vlogs of fellow breaststroker and Olympic medalist Cody Miller as they train together in Indiana.

At the moment, King is also student teaching to become a physical education teacher, in addition to her training schedule. When asked how she balances her academic and athletes worlds, she said, “A lot of sleep.” “I think sleeping is the best form of recovery one can get,” she said.

If her breastroke event were ever to be eliminated at the Olympic level, she noted that she would swim the “400 meter individual medley.” ‘That would be my next event,” she said.

King defined the word success as “getting what you deserve after you put the hours, days, months and years of hard work to achieve your goals.” “That final satisfaction is what success is to me,” she said.

To learn more about Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Lilly King, follow her on Instagram and on Twitter.

Olympic swimmer Lilly King

Olympic swimmer Lilly King
JD Lasica, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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