Just a day after swimming legends Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte delivered a searing critique of Team USA, Lilly King wasn’t about to stay silent. Phelps reshared Lochte’s Instagram story that depicted a funeral photo tagged as “IN LOVING MEMORY OF UNITED STATES SWIMMING” accompanied by the biting caption, “They set the bar high—until they stopped reaching for it.” The moment lit up conversations across the swimming world.
But as Katie Ledecky clinched gold in the 800m and set a world record in the mixed freestyle 400 free relay, at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, King fired right back. Tagging both Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in her Instagram story, she posted, “Y’all been real quiet tonight,” a pointed dig that needed no translation.
So, could King’s shade at the sports legends spark a deeper conversation about respect and resilience within the team?
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