All eyes were on Lilly King of the United States and Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa when they competed in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke on Tuesday in Tokyo (Monday night in the United States). Following Schoenmaker edged out King in the semifinals, there was plenty of drama between the two top qualifiers for the finals in the center two lanes after King’s finger-wag celebration in Rio made her an American swimming hero, and she arrived to Tokyo with high hopes.
In the second 50, however, it was the American in lane 3 who stole the show, as 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby of Alaska, who was mentioned briefly at the top of the broadcast as an up-and-comer but not yet a top competitor, pulled away in the final stretch to stun both Schoenmaker and King and win the gold.
The audience at her hometown’s railroad terminal watch party in Seward, Alaska was ecstatic, as was her mother, who was filming it all on a massive iPad from her parents’ watch party in Orlando.
Rowdy Gaines remarked on the broadcast that the state only has one Olympic-sized pool (50 meters) and that she swims in a 25-yard pool, but she won Olympic gold on the largest stage of them all. Her post-race interview was all a 17-year-old who had just won a gold medal at the Olympics should be.
It is an incredibly cool moment for Jacoby, who will surely see those lofty expectations shifted onto her young shoulders for the next three years leading up to the Paris Games, but for now she can revel in one of the greatest moments any athlete can have.
