Former Indiana University swimmer Lilly King and current junior swimmer Josh Matheny highlighted this past weekend for the Indiana Swim Club, which consists of past and present IU swimmers, at the Phillips 66 National Championships hosted at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. King placed first in all three of her breaststroke events.
The pair qualified for the Fukuoka 2023 World Championships to represent the U.S. in multiple events. They'll join IU junior Anna Peplowski and IU divers Andrew Capobianco, Jessica Parratto and Maxwell Weinrich, who already qualified for the national team. Peplowski earned a spot on the team in the 200-meter freestyle relay after seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky conceded her spot.
King won the national championship in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events. King was just behind her 100-meter 1:04.13 world record – set at the 2017 World Championships – by six tenths of a second on Friday. Following the breaststroke sweep, King has now qualified for four straight world championships.
Matheny finished second in the 100-meter breaststroke finals with a new personal-best time of 59.20, beating his former personal record from a year ago by .22 seconds in the event. Matheny also qualified for the world championships in the 200-meter event.
Aside from the performances from King and Matheny, the Indiana Swim Club had four other swimmers finish top-15 in 100-meter breaststroke, reinforcing the nickname “Breaststroke U” for the Hoosiers. Cody Miller finished fourth with a time of 59.85, while IU Juniors Maxwell Reich and Jassen Yep placed 10th and 13th, respectively, to round out the men’s event. King’s training partner at Indiana’s Swim Club, Annie Lazor, finished sixth in the women’s event.
The 2023 Fukuoka World Championships take place from July 14 to 30 in Fukuoka, Japan. The Indiana swimming and diving program starts its 2023 season later this season with the Cream and Crimson exhibition meet on Sept. 29.
