In the fastest race of her young, international career and in a battle against the world’s best, Lydia Jacoby, of Seward, Alaska, out-touched the current Olympic record holder and the reigning Olympic champion for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medal in the Women’s 100M Breaststroke on Monday night-Alaska Time; Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.
(AP Photos/Petr David Josek)
Lydia Jacob posted a gold medal winning time of 1:04.95 in the final; driving through the final 25 meters past Olympic record-holder Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa (1:05.22) and world record-holder and 2016 Olympic champion Lilly King of the United States (1:05.54). Lydia, at 17 years-of-age, posted the fastest Olympic 100M Breaststroke time by an Olympic women under 18 in Olympic swim history.
Jacoby, racing out of lane three, battled through the first turn at 50 meters in-touch with the experienced veterans King and Schoenmaker making the turn in third place. Lydia powered through the final fifty meters, pulling away and driving into the touchpad for the gold.
Jacoby entered the 100M Breaststroke final seeded third with a semi-final time of 1:05.72. She qualified for the Olympics with a second-place finish at the USA Swimming Trials with a time of 1:05.28. Jacoby has improved her time in the 100M Breaststroke from 1:07.57 at the 2020 US Open Swimming Championships to a 1:04.95 and a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lydia Jacoby is eligible to compete as a member of the USA Olympic Swim Team relay teams in in the Women’s 400M Medley Relay and/or the Mixed-Gender Medley Relay, a new event for the Tokyo Games. Relay teams are not required to declare members until race day.
