100 m breaststroke, women

What to remember

A world title and a world record in the same race: on July 25, 2017, at the World Championships in Budapest, Lilly King won the 100 m breaststroke in 1 min 04.13 s. The American was already Olympic champion over the distance after the 2016 Rio Games.

A breaststroke specialist, King built an Olympic record over three Games. In Rio she won the 100 m breaststroke and the 4 × 100 m medley relay, swimming the breaststroke leg. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics she took silver in the 200 m breaststroke, bronze in the 100 m breaststroke and a relay silver for her swim in the heats. In Paris in 2024 she won the medley relay once more. She retired from competitive swimming after the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

The 100 m breaststroke has been on the Olympic programme for both men and women since 1968, and at the World Aquatics Championships since the first edition in 1973. In the long course pool, King's mark has its men's counterpart in that of Great Britain's Adam Peaty.