US Nationals Day 4 Finals: Kate Douglass Passes Lilly King Late for 100 Breaststroke Title
In another completely stacked field, the women’s 100 breaststroke final had a ton of storylines to digest.
First of all, the world record-holder, Lilly King, was swimming the final race of her career on U.S. soil. The Olympic gold medalist had already qualified for the World Aquatics Championships in the 50 breaststroke earlier in the week, but this was her final race in one of her home pools.
Then you had the Virginia trio with Olympians Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh and Emma Weber, all battling for spots.
Plus 47-year-old Gabrielle Rose was back in the finals at nationals.
Just two spots out of all of that history.
King pulled ahead near the turn and continued to build as Douglass caught up and the two were on a collision course the rest of the way.
Douglass passed king with about 15 meters to go and hung on for the win in 1:05.79.
King was just behind at 1:06.02 to hold off Walsh (1:06.50) and Weber (1:06.55) as Virginia past and present went 1-2-4.
“It was great. I was hoping tonight would be special. It was a fun way to say goodbye,” King said. “I had a little moment after the race, but this isn’t my last meet. I was trying not to think too much about it. I have seen a lot of final races but this was a preview for me and it was a weird feeling (before the race). That was an interesting thing to deal with for the first time.”
