Texas Swimmer Lydia Jacoby is Bound For U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials

Texas Longhorns swimmer Lydia Jacoby is looking to add a third Olympic medal to her collection in the Paris games

Apr 17, 2024; New York, New York, USA; U.S. Olympic athlete Lydia Jacoby poses for a photo at the Team USA Media Summit at Mariott Marquis. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Rising junior Lydia Jacoby can say she won an Olympic gold medal before a high school diploma. Now, as a third-year swimmer for Texas, Jacoby is close to becoming a two-time Olympian.

The breaststroke swimmer from Seward, Alaska was a nobody going into Tokyo 2021, but soon made her name known when she achieved the fastest ever time by a 17-18 year old female American swimmer in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:04.95. Also in 2021, Jacoby was the overall highest-scoring female American competitor at the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup.

Jacoby committed to the University of Texas in 2020 and enrolled in the fall of 2022, and since then, she has already left her mark on the program.

She became the NCAA Division I champion in the 100-meters women's breaststroke in 2023.

It wasn't clear for Jacoby that she would be standing in another Olympic trial. After winning the gold medal at age 17, she struggled with getting back in the pool.

“After the Olympics, you’re getting pulled so many different directions,” Jacoby said. “I’m very much a people pleaser. So I was like, ‘I want to do this for everyone.’ And I felt, like, at a point I’d given every piece of myself away and I had nothing left for myself.

Jacoby was swimming, but not putting her full effort into practices.

“I really fell out of love with the sport for a while," she said. "I considered quitting.”

Moving to Austin and starting a new life was key her to love swimming again.

“I think I was just ready for something new,” she said. “I had really reached the pinnacle of sports. I just was kind of lost on where to go next. And so I think the move to Texas was a great one in that regard.”

Jacoby is now waiting for the category final on June 17 to earn a spot in the U.S. Olympic swimming team for the second consecutive time.