Lilly King Surges to 1:04.1 to Take Down 100 Breast World Record

2017 FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The highly anticipated showdown between Lilly King and Yuliya Efimova in the women’s 100 breast did not disappoint the crowd tonight. The USA’s King was out like a light, splitting 29.80 at the 50. Efimova is a great closer, so it was expected that she would gain some ground, but King surged through the 2nd 50 with the fastest back half of the field, splitting a 34.33 on the way home to clip the World Record with a 1:04.13. The former record stood at a 1:04.35 done by Ruta Meilutyte in 2012.

King’s 100 Breast World Record Splits:

  • 1st 50 Split- 29.80
  • 2nd 50 Split- 34.33
  • Final Time- 1:04.13

King had incredible opening speed, as her 29.80 split at the 50 tied Jessica Hardy for the 2nd fastest 50 breast ever done by an American. It was also the 5th fastest 50 breast in history worldwide. Before U.S. Nationals, where King put up a 29.66, Hardy’s 29.80 stood as the American Record.

Though she was just .01 shy of the World Record yesterday, Efimova wasn’t as fast tonight. She faded slightly at the finish, taking bronze in 1:05.05 while King’s teammate Katie Meili (1:05.03) out-touched her for silver. Former World Record holder Meilutyte of Lithuania wound up 4th in 1:05.65.

Fastest Performers of All Time: Women’s 100 Breast:

1 Lilly King 1:04.13
2 Ruta Meilutyte 1:04.35
3 Yuliya Efimova 1:04.36
4 Jessica Hardy 1:04.45
5 Rebecca Soni 1:04.84
6 Katie Meili 1:05.03
7 Leisel Jones 1:05.09
8 Ji Liping 1:05.32
9 Katy Freeman 1:05.35
10 Qi Hui 1:05.47

Fastest Performances of All Time: Women’s 100 Breast:

1 Lilly King 1:04.13
2 Ruta Meilutyte 1:04.35
3 Yuliya Efimova 1:04.36
4 Ruta Meilutyte 1:04.42
5 Jessica Hardy 1:04.45
6 Ruta Meilutyte 1:04.52
7 Lilly King 1:04.53
8 Yuliya Efimova 1:04.82
9 Rebecca Soni 1:04.84
10 Rebecca Soni 1:04.91

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Baker-King-Vollmer-Manuel
6 years ago

Rūta Meilutytė
2012 London Olympics
Women’s 100 m breaststroke – 1:05.47

Rūta Meilutytė broke the world record at the 2013 FINA World Aquatics Championship during the semifinals of the women’s 100 m breaststroke.

Swimmer Thieroff
6 years ago

Pretty sure Meilutyte broke that world record in 2012 at the London Games when she won gold… she would’ve only been 12 in 2009.

iLikePsych
Reply to  Swimmer Thieroff
6 years ago

She broke it at the 2013 World Championships

Boknows34
Reply to  Swimmer Thieroff
6 years ago

Ruta swam 1.05 at the London Olympics. Her 1.04.35 WR was from Barcelona WC in 2013.

Baker-King-Vollmer-Manuel
6 years ago

Katie Meili
2016 Rio Olympics
Women’s 100 m breaststroke – 1:05.69

Katie Meili
2017 FINA World Aquatics Championship
Women’s 100 m breaststroke – 1:05.03

Not bad for a 26 year old. Oh captain, my captain!

pete augustin
6 years ago

I saw Efimova finishing in second place. Must have been an optical illusion.

Swimmer
6 years ago

Long live the King!!!

marklewis
6 years ago

Lilly King – WINNER.

Enough said.

Swimmer?
6 years ago

Get rekt Efimova!

Baker-King-Vollmer-Manuel
Reply to  Swimmer?
6 years ago

Time to change the “prescription”.

About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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