Ryan Murphy and Lilly King Join Exclusive List of Swimmers To Three-Peat At U.S. Trials

By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam

2024 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS

June 15-23, 2024
Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN
LCM (50 Meters)
Session Start Times (ET):

11 a.m. Prelims
7:45 p.m. Finals (varying based on broadcast needs)

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Finals Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Not only did Ryan Murphy and Lilly King earn their spots on the United States’ Olympic roster on Monday night, they also wrote their names into Olympic Trials history. With his win in the 100 backstroke and hers in the 100 breaststroke minutes later, Murphy and King joined the list of swimmers who have won the same event at U.S. Olympic Trials on three separate occasions.

When asked post-race about his consistency, Murphy responded “I think the biggest thing in a sport like swimming, where we kind of have few opportunities to race at this level, [is that] you have to pull motivation from a lot of different parts of your life…some days it’s pulling motivation from just raw competitiveness and some days it’s pulling motivation from focusing on technique. Some days, it’s really just being disciplined with your routine.”

Both Murphy and King are the first in their gender to accomplish the feat; Eleanor Holm pulled it off in the women’s 100 backstroke (1928, 1932, 1936) and Brendan Hansen did the same in the men’s 100 breaststroke (2004, 2008, 2012).

In addition, King joins Hansen and Amanda Beard as the only Americans who have made three Olympic teams in breaststroke.

Swimmers Who Have Three-Peated at U.S. Trials 

Eleanor Holm,  100 backstroke (1928, 1932, 1936)
Mary T. Meagher,  200 butterfly (1980, 1984, 1988)
Janet Evans,  400 freestyle (1988, 1992, 1996)
Gary Hall Jr., 50 freestyle (1996, 2000, 2004)
Brendan Hansen, 100 breaststroke (2004, 2008, 2012)
Michael Phelps, 200 freestyle (2004, 2008, 2012)
Michael Phelps, 100 butterfly (2008, 2012, 2016)
Katie Ledecky, 800 freestyle (2012, 2016, 2021)
Katie Ledecky, 400 freestyle (2016, 2021, 2024)
Katie Ledecky, 200 freestyle (2016, 2021, 2024)
Ryan Murphy, 100 backstroke (2016, 2021, 2024)
Lilly King, 100 breaststroke (2016, 2021, 2024)

The only other active swimmer on this list is Katie Ledecky. She already owned a spot on the list courtesy of her 800 freestyle wins from 2012-2016, but she’s added two more events to the list through three days in Indianapolis: the 400 and 200 freestyle. That gives her the most entries on the list, passing Michael Phelps, who has two events on the list (for three-time only entries).

Swimmers Who Have Four-Peated at U.S. Trials

Michael Phelps 200 butterfly (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
Michael Phelps 200 IM (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)

Speaking of Phelps, later in the meet Ledecky has the opportunity to join him in even more rarified air: swimmers who have won four titles in a single event at U.S. Olympic Trials. Phelps completed the feat in both the 200 butterfly and 200 IM, winning both events from 2004 – 2008 and is the only swimmer to accomplish that.

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