Rio Olympic gold medalist Lilly King posted the second-best time in the world this year in the 100m breaststroke at the Arena Pro Swim series in Atlanta on Sunday night. She raced to one minute, 6.20 seconds.
The fastest time in the world this year? Russia’s Yulia Efimova clocked 1:05.90 in April.
The two went head-to-head in a heated battle during the Games, the birth of the now-infamous “finger wag” incident. They’re expected to race again in as many as three breaststroke events at this summer’s world championships in Budapest in July. King told NBC Sports analyst Rowdy Gaines that she’s looking forward to breaking world records in the (non-Olympic) 50m and 100m breast in Budapest. She is also aiming to make the final in the 200m breast, something King was shut out of in Rio.
Chase Kalisz, the 400m individual medal silver medalist from Rio appeared to be in dominant shape in Atlanta. Kalisz raced a tough double Sunday night, explaining to Gaines that it was good practice for the 400m IM. First, he won the 200m butterfly in 1:55.94. He came back just under an hour later to win in the 200m IM in 1:57.21.
Katie Ledecky did not race Sunday night, but raced in the 800m freestyle in the morning heats. She cruised to 8:15.71, telling Gaines the time was about what she expected. Instead, she spent Sunday night on a flight back to school at Stanford.
MORE: Katie Ledecky posts fastest time of 2017 to open Atlanta meet
