United States swimmer Lilly King may have come up short in her bid to secure back-to-back gold medals in the 100m breaststroke, but she was part of a wonderful display of sportsmanship and camaraderie with 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby after she captured the title in the Monday.
The teen swimmer came into the event hoping to get onto the medal stand, but she did even better than that, outracing both King, the defending champion in the race, and South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker to capture the gold medal in the event.
After the race was over, King swam over to Jacoby and gave her a big hug, raising her hand in triumph in the pool:
During an interview with Michelle Tafoya after the race, King congratulated the 17-year-old on her incredible race, saying that she was proud that the gold medal was kept in the “USA family.”
“We love to keep that gold in the USA family, so this kid just had the swim of her life, and I am proud to be her teammate,” King said.
Jacoby was interviewed on the TODAY show Tuesday after her win, and got to discuss not only her gold medal moment, but also her triumphant pose with King, and about the incredible reaction of the residents of her hometown of Seward, Alaska as they celebrated her victory:
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The event was the lone swim of the Olympics for Jacoby, but King will still have a chance to bring home another medal, as she’s set to swim in the women’s 200m breaststroke event on Wednesday.
