Share

Golden King breaks women's 50m breaststroke world record

accreditation
Lilly King (Getty)
Lilly King (Getty)

Budapest - Lilly King of the United States claimed her second world record this week in winning the women's 50m breaststroke gold at the world championships on Sunday.

King clocked 29.40 seconds, breaking Ruta Meilutyte's four-year-old record of 29.48, with Russia's Yuliya Efimova taking silver at 0.17 back and America's Katie Meili earning bronze at 0.59.

This was the second world record the 20-year-old King has broken in Budapest after also lowering Meilutyte's time for the 100m breaststroke in winning Tuesday's final.

The victory was King's second this week over rival Efimova, who took bronze in the 100m final but had beaten the American over 200m with a commanding display on Friday when King finished fourth.

The American sparked a war of words at last year's Rio de Janeiro Olympic games when she branded the Russian a drugs cheat after Efimova's 16-month ban for doping which ended in February 2015.

Meili paid tribute to her American team-mate.

"I'm satisfied, that's my first time under 30 seconds," said the 26-year-old, who also took breaststroke silver over 100m.

"I think Lily always has a world record in her, she's been incredible this week, really fast, we're very proud of her."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1778 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE