Lydia Jacoby of Seward came from behind to win the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke at the Summer Olympics in Japan.

The 17-year old was third at the turn and closed strong to pop a blistering time of 1:04.95, a quarter second ahead of South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker.

Jacoby is the first Alaskan to make an Olympic team in swimming and is the first American woman to win gold in swimming at these Olympics.

She joins a short list of Alaskans to earn a gold medal at the summer Olympics.

The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Alaska Athlete of the Week is selected by a panel each Friday and announced publicly Monday morning on our Facebook page.

Have a candidate in mind? Email us your nomination: info@alaskasportshall.org.

View past winners here.