Lilly King and Jackie Young’s journey to becoming Olympians

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – Princeton’s Jackie Young will go for her second gold medal for Team USA on the basketball court, while Reitz’s Lilly King will go for at least a third gold in swimming.

Both of them were stars in high school. Jackie Young’s head coach from high school, Charles Mair, said Young realized her dreams early on.

“She was an eighth grader and freshman talking about playing in the WNBA,” said Mair.

Those goals took a lifetime of dedication for King and Young. King’s mother, Ginny King, said that Lilly was self-motivated to go to practice.

“I would be lying in bed on Saturday mornings thinking, ‘maybe she’ll sleep in today,’ and then I could hear her coming up the steps saying, ‘Mom, come on we’ve got practice,” said Ginny King.

That practice paid off, as both have turned into massive success stories. King’s father, Mark King, said that inspires the younger generation.

“It’s really neat to see how children respond to your kid and you get to see how she makes an impact on them as a professional athlete, a swimmer, and a winner,” said Mark King.

The Olympics are now underway and a Lady Panther and Lady Tiger will be representing their nation and local communities on the global stage.

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