Team USA swimmer Lilly King qualified Thursday for her second event at the Paris Olympics and also brought home another precious metal to add to her two Olympic gold medals.
After she finished second in the 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis, King’s longtime boyfriend, James Wells, greeted her and told her spending the last four years as her boyfriend has been an honor. Then he presented her with a ring.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she said, still dripping from her race.
She looked at the ring and said, “Oh, it fits perfect.”
Wells, a fellow alum of the swim team at Indiana University in nearby Bloomington, said the timing was right to ask for King’s hand in marriage.
“It means so much for her to be here in front of this crowd,” Wells said after the proposal. “That’s the perfect opportunity.”
King, a two-time Olympian, finished the 200-meter breaststroke behind Kate Douglass by passing Gretchen Walsh a few strokes from the wall.
She qualified for her third Summer Games appearance by winning the 100-meter breaststroke final Monday in Indianapolis.
King will become the first U.S. swimmer to race the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke at three straight Olympics. She’ll bring her Hoosier pride to Paris.
“It’s just unbelievably special,” she said after her win Monday. “We’re a swimming state. I’m really proud of that. And I’m glad to represent us.”
