Katie Ledecky makes her feelings known as Lilly King claims she and teammates won 54 races in just 6 days. PHOTO: Getty Images

Katie Ledecky drops 2-word reaction as Lilly King claims she and teammates including Gretchen Walsh and Regan Smith swam '54 races in just 6 days'

Modified Dec 17, 2024 15:29 GMT

Katie Ledecky reacted to Lilly King’s claims about her and teammates Gretchen Walsh, Regan Smith, and Kate Douglass’ performances at the 2024 Swimming Short Course World Championships last week. The four athletes delivered an impressive performance, ending their campaign with a world record in the 4x100m medley relay, finishing in 3:40.41.

Following the World Championships, Lilly King opened up about the incredible achievement. She took to Instagram to write about the four athletes’ hectic schedule with the following caption:

“I think we determined the four of us swam a total of 54 races in 6 days🤯 No better way to finish than with a WR🇺🇸 Thank you Budapest!!”

Katie Ledecky reacted to this post from King, writing:

“Crushed it [US flag emoji]"

Screenshot of Katie Ledecky’s comment on Lilly King’s Instagram story. Credits - IG/ @_king_lil

In addition to Ledecky, other swimmers also shared their reactions on King’s comment section. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Abbey Weitzeil commented:

“I can’t even count that many laps”

Screenshot of Weitzeil’s comment. Credits - IG/ @_king_lil

Gretchen Walsh's sister and competitive swimmer Alex also chimed in, writing:

“My queens 🤍”

Screenshot of Alex Walsh’s comment. Credits - IG/ @_king_lil

At the Swimming Short Course World Championships, the United States continued its dominance, winning 39 medals, 18 gold, 13 silver, and 8 bronze, to finish atop the medals standings.

When Katie Ledecky challenged Lilly King in 400m IM as both faced off for the first time

Katie Ledecky and Lilly King faced each other for the first time at the 2024 Pro Swim Series in Knoxville. In the 400m individual medley, Ledecky won the silver medal and King finished fourth, clocking times of 4:44.82 and 4:49.92, respectively.

After the race, King recalled the moment that led to her decision to compete in the 400 IM, mentioning how Ledecky had challenged her to take part in the event.

She said via SwimSwam (0.04):

“I was, like, in the ready room talking to Bailey Andison. Like, I was just saying, hey, like, 'I could throw down a good four IM. At least this is how I remember it.'”

She added:

“Katie [Ledecky], in like, the nicest, most Katie way possible, was like, 'will you, like, always say you're going to swim it and you never do? So where is it at?' ”

Since King doesn't typically compete in the 400m IM, she had to qualify for the race by participating in a local meet, where she achieved the Pro Swim Series qualification time in the discipline.