Lydia Jacoby
The ‘Fearsome Threesome’ didn’t disappoint Friday night at the USA swimming national championships in Indianapolis.
Comprised of reigning Olympic champion Lydia Jacoby of Seward, world-record holder Lilly King of Indiana and defending national champion Kaitlyn Dobler of Oregon, the trio terrifies opponents in the 100-meter breaststroke.
They are in a class of their own and took the field to school in the A finals at the national championships, finishing 1-2-3 with the difference being a blink of an eye.
King pulled ahead at the end and finished in 1:04.75, edging Jacoby by 0.41 seconds and Dobler by 0.73 seconds.
Dobler led at the halfway mark, with Jacoby 0.26 back and King right there at 0.28.
“You thought, ‘Well, maybe Dobler can do this,’” said NBC Sports announcer Rowdy Gaines. “I knew Jacoby was going to charge on.”
At the 75-meter mark, the three swimmers appeared to be in a virtual tie as they surged for the finish. It was anybody’s race.
The home crowd is going CRAZY. 🗣
Indiana native @_king_lil takes the win in the women's 100m breaststroke for her third national title this week!#Phillips66Nats | 📺 @peacock pic.twitter.com/gMxZNUNlI4
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 30, 2023
Urged by the home crowd, King rallied down the stretch to claim the gold medal after she outkicked Jacoby, who is world renowned as a late-race closer. Jacoby earned silver and Dobler bronze, but both probably felt like they could have won.
“She’s the fourth-fastest swimmer in the world,” Gaines said of Dobler. “But now you’ve got the first- and third-fastest swimmers in the world ahead of her.
“That’s how good those three swimmers were.”
King went 3-for-3 in the breaststroke events at the national championships, sweeping the 50, 100 and 200.
Jacoby picked up a pair of silver medals. She finished second in the 50 breaststroke on Thursday with a PR time of 29.81 seconds.
Lilly King (left) and Seward’s Lydia Jacoby are the best in the world at what they do.
In April, Jacoby knocked off King at a Pro Series meet in Westmont, Illinois.
The 19-year-old Alaskan showcased her trademark kick as she rallied in the back half of the race to touch the wall in 1:06.09 and beat an uber competitive field that included the world’s top three breaststrokers, a fourth Olympian and a six-time college All-American.
Jacoby beat King by three-tenths of a second after reeling her in over the last 50 meters just like she did in winning their gold medal matchup at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.