A quartet of swimming finals took place on Monday night (Tuesday afternoon local time in Japan) at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, and only one American claimed gold. The big winner was 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby, Alaska’s first ever Olympic swimmer.
She earned that top honor in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke. Defending Olympic champion and fellow American Lilly King took home bronze in that race.
American swimmers Regan Smith and Ryan Murphy also medaled, as both won bronze in their respective events.
Here’s a race-by-race recap of Monday’s swimming action:
Women’s 100-meter breaststroke
Jacoby stole the show. She swam well above her years by claiming America’s lone swimming gold on the night. King came into the race as the favorite — having won it at the 2016 Rio Games — but Jacoby showed she could hang with her and the rest of the competition by finishing with the second-best semifinal time (1:05:52).
Then, in the final, Jacoby clocked a time of 1:04.95, better than anyone else in the pool. Here’s a look at the final stretch of the race:
