American swimmer Lilly King gets engaged moments after qualifying for Olympics in 200-meter breaststroke

American swimmer Lilly King is headed to Paris next month with some extra hardware after the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s longtime boyfriend popped the question following her second place finish in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic trials on Thursday night. 

King, who already qualified with her win in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, was walking off the pool deck at Lucas Oil Stadium after qualifying for her second individual event when her boyfriend, former Indiana University swimmer James Wells, approached her. 

“Getting to watch you over the last four years, both in and out of the pool, and just to see you grow has been so awesome,” Wells said in a video shared by NBC Sports. 

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“I don’t regret for a minute dropping my job and moving halfway across the country for us to move in together. It has been awesome, and I am very excited to see where this goes. So, dear, I was wondering, Lilly Camille King, will you marry me?”

King, 27, said “yes” right away and the couple sealed their engagement with a kiss.

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“I didn’t see it” Team USA’s Ryan Murphy said of King’s engagement. 

“That’s unbelievable. I’d love to hear her reaction to how it is to get proposed to completely out of breath and soaked. That’s incredible. She must be riding an absolute high.”

King said in an interview after the proposal that she had been completely caught off guard, but former teammate Annie Lazor did suggest she put her hair down just moments before. 

King, a five-time Olympic medalist, will appear in her third Summer Games next month. She last won the silver medal in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke and bronze in the 100-meter in Tokyo.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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