American Women Rewrite 100 Breast World Rankings on Day 2 of Olympic Trials

2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS

The U.S. entered day 2 of the Wave II of the Olympic Trials with one swimmer in the top 20 in the world this year in the women’s 100 breast. That swimmer was Lilly King, the World Record-holder, who held the #1 time in the world this year. At the end of today, the U.S. now holds 4 of the top 7 swimmers in the world this year in the event, including the #1 and #2 swimmers. Now buckle up, because we’re going to take you through the changes the world standings went through today in chronological order:

In prelims of the race, IU pro swimmer Annie Lazor was the first to break through, swimming a 1:05.92 for a new personal best. That swim ranked her 5th in the world at the time, but it would last more than 2 minutes. That’s because Texas A&M pro swimmer Bethany Galat swam a 1:05.89 in the next heat, also a lifetime best, which bumped Lazor from 6th to 7th in the world this year.

As it turns out, that was just a warmup for what would happen in semifinals. Although Galat wasn’t faster than her prelims time, 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby took control of the first semis heat, clocking a new lifetime best and 17-18 National Age Group Record with a time of 1:05.71. That swim briefly made Jacoby the #3 swimmer in the world this year, then bumping Galat and Lazor to 5th and 6th respectively. But again, it would only last minutes.

In the 2nd semifinals heat, Annie Lazor held tough with her IU teammate Lilly King, finishing 2nd in the heat with a massive new personal best of 1:05.37. The swim vaulted Lazor from her then-6th in the world performance, all the way up to #2, behind only King, who won the heat in 1:04.72. King took 0.60 seconds off her world-leading time with the performance. Lazor moving up to #2, pushed Jacoby back to #4, while Galat remained at #7.

If you’re lost by now, we don’t blame you. What matters is that this is the updated list of the top 8 performances in the world this year, keeping in mind that it could shift again tomorrow:

#
NAME
TEAM
TIME
DATE
MEET
1 LILLY
KING
USA 1:04.72 06/14 2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS
OMAHA, NE
2 ANNIE
LAZOR
USA 1:05.37 06/14 2021 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS WAVE II
OMAHA, NE
3 SOPHIE
HANSSON
SWE 1:05.69 05/18 2021 LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
BUDAPEST, HUN
4 LYDIA
JACOBY
USA 1:05.71 06/14 2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS
OMAHA, NE
5 TATJANA
SCHOENMAKER
RSA 1:05.74 04/11 2021 SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
GQEBERHA, SOUTH AFRICA
6 MARTINA
CARRARO
ITA 1:05.86 04/02 2021 ITALIAN OLYMPIC TRIALS
RICCIONE, ITA
7 BETHANY
GALAT
USA 1:05.89 06/14 2021 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS WAVE II
OMAHA, NE
8 ARIANNA
CASTIGLIONI
ITA 1:05.98 05/18 2021 LEN EUROPEAN AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
BUDAPEST, HUN

As you can see, the U.S. now has the #1 (King), #2 (Lazor), #4 (Jacoby), and #7 (Galat) swimmers in the world this year in the 100 breast. Bear in mind that they started today with just King in the top 20. It was lifetime bests from Lazor, Jacoby, and Galat that fueled their rising in the standings.

Here are the top 8 swimmers from tonight’s semifinals of the event:


WOMEN’S 100 BREAST
SEMI-FINALS

  • World Record: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.13 (2017)
  • American Record: Lilly King – 1:04.13 (2017)
  • US Open Record: Jessica Hardy (USA) – 1:04.45 (2009)
  • World Junior Record: Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) – 1:05.21 (2014)
  • 2016 Olympic Champion: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.93
  • 2016 US Olympic Trials Champion: Lilly King – 1:05.20
  • Wave I Cut: 1:10.99
  • Wave II Cut: 1:09.55
  • FINA ‘A’ Cut: 1:07.07
  1. Lilly King (ISC), 1:04.72
  2. Annie Lazor (MVN), 1:05.37
  3. Lydia Jacoby (STSC), 1:05.71
  4. Bethany Galat (AGS), 1:05.96
  5. Micah Sumrall (GAME), 1:07.03
  6. Emily Escobedo (COND), 1:07.23
  7. Miranda Tucker (UN-MI), 1:07.26
  8. Kaitlyn Dobler (TDPS), 1:07.28

Another interesting aspect about this event at U.S. Trials is what the 5-8th place swimmers from tonight will do tomorrow. Of course, King, Lazor, Jacoby, and Galat may alter the world standings a bit more in the final, but Micah Sumrall, Emily Escobedo, Miranda Tucker, and Kaitlyn Dobler are all sitting just outside the top 25 in the world this year with their semifinals swims tonight. Given that 3 swimmers broke through and swam huge lifetime bests today, it seems possible we could have more tomorrow, and this could turn into one of the most exciting finals at the meet.

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Tea rex
2 years ago

Anyone know what Hannis did before the DQ?

Smith-King-Huske-Manuel
2 years ago
Swimfan
2 years ago

What about the fact that the women also went 1-2-3-4 in the 400 IM!!!!! To me that’s more impressive

Drama King
Reply to  Swimfan
2 years ago

Not no 1 for sure. I think Kaylee Mckeown holds the best time in 400 IM this season.

Smith-King-Huske-Manuel
Reply to  Swimfan
2 years ago

None of the aforementioned swims rank in the Top 25 All-Time Performance List.

Women’s 100 meter butterfly
All-Time Performance
Huske – 5th

Women’s 100 meter breaststroke
All-Time Performance
King – 8th

Women’s 100 meter backstroke
All-Time Performance
Smith – 4th