Lilly King nabs Paris spot, then gets engaged, at US Olympic swim trials

Katie Douglass won the 200-meter breaststroke final at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis on Thursday, but second-place finisher Lilly King got the ring when her boyfriend proposed on the pool deck immediately after the race.

Douglass, winner of the women’s 100-meter freestyle on Wednesday, added the 200-meter breaststroke to her Paris schedule and reached the wall first in two minutes, 19.46 seconds at Lucas Oil Stadium, more than two seconds ahead of King .

If King, who had already qualified for Paris with her victory in the 100m breaststroke, felt any disappointment with her performance, it was quickly washed away when boyfriend James Wells met her on deck, got down on one knee and popped the question.

“Oh my God, yes, yes,” King beamed. “Oh god, I’m so excited.”

Regan Smith and Ryan Murphy both increased their Olympic workloads after contrasting victories on Thursday.

Smith, who took the women’s 100m backstroke world record from Australia’s Kaylee McKeown on Tuesday, got the action going with a dominant performance in the 200m butterfly.

The American record holder in the event, Smith hit the wall in a time of two minutes and 5.70 seconds, almost a full second ahead of Alex Shackell.

Murphy had already qualified for his third Games by winning the 100m backstroke earlier this week and made it two-for-two after fending off a challenge from Keaton Jones to take first place in the 200m backstroke.

Murphy, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, was pushed to the limit and came home in 1:54.33, just 0.28 ahead of Jones.