TOKYO — Lydia Jacoby, a 17-year-old from Alaska, stunned reigning gold medalist Lilly King and won the 100-meter breaststroke at the Olympics here on Tuesday.
Jacoby came home in 1:04.95. South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker finished second (1:05.22). King, the Rio champ, finished third, 0.59 seconds off the pace.
After touching the wall and looking up at the scoreboard to see her name first, Jacoby immediately thought to herself, “That’s insane.”
“It was crazy,” she said. “I was definitely racing for a medal. I knew I had it in me. I wasn’t really expecting a gold medal. When I looked up and saw that scoreboard, it was insane.”
It was and it is.
For starters, there isn’t an Olympic-length pool in Seward, Alaska, where Jacoby lives. During the pandemic, Jacoby had to move to Anchorage, two hours away, just to train. And if not for the pandemic, providing her another year of improvement, Jacoby likely would have been in Tokyo last year as a spectator.
She was the 18th-fastest women in the 100 breast in 2019, the last full calendar year of competition. She lowered her time from 1:08.12 in 2019 to 1:05.28 at U.S. Trials in June. Tuesday night, she broke the 1:05 mark.
“I don’t think I would have been prepared last year at all,” she said at Trials. “I think this extra year of training I’ve grown physically and mentally.”
King came in as the favorite. When not disqualified, she entered Tokyo unbeaten in the event in five-and-a-half years. At times since her gold in Rio, and especially since her world record at the world championships a year later, she felt unchallenged. At times, said her coach, Ray Looze, “when there’s nothing on the line, she’s bored.” She’d yearn for a challenge.
Here in Tokyo, she got it. Schoenmaker broke King’s Olympic record in preliminary heats, and bettered King in the semifinals by 0.33 seconds to earn the top seed in Tuesday’s final.
Those two seemingly would duel it out for gold, and did over the first 50 meters. But Jacoby never lost contact, and over the last 25 meters surged ahead to pull off the stunning upset.
Walking away afterward, 30 yards behind Jacoby, King looked stunned.
Speaking in the mixed zone afterwards, King took a few questions — “I’m surprisingly OK right now. Very happy with my race, and so excited for Lydia” — but then Jacoby approached, and everybody’s attention shifted. Reporters went silent, wanting to talk to the newly-crowned champ. “Off to you kiddo,” King said.
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