Emma Weber is an American breaststroker. After rising through the junior ranks and swimming at UVA, Weber stunned many when she upset reigning Olympic champion Lydia Jacoby in the 100 breast at the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials to qualify for her first Olympics behind Lilly King.
Junior/High School Swimming
Weber first came on the radar swimming at the 2017 Colorado LC State Championships, Weber won the girls’ 14&U 100 breast with a 1:11.93. She broke Zoe Bartel’s meet record and scored her first U.S. Open cut in the event. She also dropped 5.5 seconds in the 200 breast (2:38.02) and earned her first Summer Juniors cut. She won that event with a new meet record, too. She dropped that 200 breast time down to 2:36.75 at Wester Zone Age Group Championships.
She converted those LC gains to the SCY pool at the 2017 Winter Juniors–West, winning the 100 breast “C” final with a best-time swim of 1:02.25. She was also 2:18.95 in the 200 breast for 48th.
The next summer, Weber dropped her 100 breast PB 3 times, 1 of which came at the 2018 NAC Summer Sizzler where she won the 13-14 event with a 1:11.45. She also popped a 2:34.02 200 breast there. She reset that 100 mark with a 1:11.28 for 16th in prelims at 2018 Summer Juniors. Weber obliterated that mark in the final with a 1:10.42 for 10th. She also places 14th in both prelims and finals of the 200 best with times of 2:34.66 and 2:36.56 respectively.
As a freshman at Fairview High School out of Boulder, Colorado, Weber helped them dethrone Fossil Ridge at the 2019 5A State Championships, just a year after Fossil Ridge scored the most points in Colorado HS championship history (424) to win it. In the 200 medley relay, Weber’s decisive 28.14 breast split was key in a Fairview win over Fossil Ridge. She also won the 100 breast in a 1:02.04 PB. Weber reset that PB a month later at Federal Way Sectionals, posting a 1:01.30.
Weber had a huge breakout at the 2019 Summer Juniors. Weber, in the 200 breast took second in 1:08.73, splitting 32.35/36.28. That time put her at No. 12 in the 15-16 NAG despite only being 15. Weber’s swim took over a second-and-a-half off her prelims time, which had been her best time. She clocked another prelims PB in the 200 breast with a 2:33.36 before smashing that to bits in the final with a massive 2:29.90 for 1st, making her #26 in the 15-16 NAG rankings.
Those big strides continued at the 2019 Winter Juniors–West, where Weber too runner up in both breast distances behind Kaitlyn Dobler. In the 100, she split 28.4/31.34 for a 59.74. In the 200, she was 29.99/33.77/32.96/33.67 for a 2:10.39.
It took a while for Weber to return the her breakneck trajectory after the 2020 lockdowns of COVID-19 pandemic. Her first big step at the 2020 US Open where she neared her 100 breast LCM PB with a 1:08.83. She later neared her 100 breast SCY PB at the 2021 Colorado High School 5A State Championships. Having switched to Regis Jesuit High School and st out her sophomore season, Weber became the first girl to break a minute in the 100 breast in Colorado high school history, going 59.93 to snap the 1:00.22 record held previously by Zoe Bartel. In the 200 IM, Weber posted a lifetime best 2:01.71 for the state crown. She also boasted a 27.40 50 breast relay split.
Later in in the spring at the the 2021 Gain Invite in Sarasota, Webber to a decent chunk off her 100 breast LCM PB with a 1:08.04. She was also 2:31.91 in the 200 breast.
After being runner up in both breast events at 2019 Winter Juniors–West, Weber upgraded to gold in both at the 2021 edition. She went out fast in the 100, splitting a 27.82 on the opening 50, but she also closed with the fastest split in the field (31.21), clocking a 59.03. That undercut her two-year-old PB set at the 2019 edition. In the 200 breast, it was Piper Enge who took it our fast but Weber reeled her in, splitting 29.57/32.77/33.13/33.57 for a PB of 2:09.04. That took down another 2-year-old PB.
At the 2022 Colorado High School State Championships, Weber was well off her best in her 100 breast but still won her 3rd state final with a 1:01.65.
Weber was just off her season best at 2022 Summer Juniors, taking runner-up with a 1:08.31.
College Swimming
In our “Way Too Early” ranks of the class of 2022 in their sophomore year, Weber held the top times in the class in the 100/200 breast and was ranked #8. In October 2020, Weber announced her verbal commitment to the University of Virginia. She fell to #13 in our junior year re-rank after future Olympic Champion Lydia Jacoby overtook her class leading times. She was #14 in our final re-rank.
2022-23
Webber was solid through the fall, posting 1:00 100 breasts against Florida and Texas, culminating in a 59.53 season best at the Tennessee Invite. She was also 2:12.01 in her 200 there. She lowered that 200 breast season best to 2:11.29 against Virginia Tech in January.
Things really came together in the prep for ACCs, where Weber posted a 2:08.41 200 breast PB at the Cavalier Invite. That was her first breast PB since arriving in Charlottesville. She was off that time at ACCs, placing 6th in the final with a 2:10.64 after posting a 2:09.62 in prelims. However, Weber posted a big best time in the 100 breast. In prelims, she neared her PB with a 59.14 before taking .42 seconds off her PB with a 58.61 in the final to place 3rd.
At NCAAs, Weber added a little in the 100 breast prelims, just making the “A” final in 8th with a 58.90. She added .05 seconds with a 58.95 in the final to remain 8th.
2023-24
Weber only competed in one dual meet in the fall as she went to Pan Ams. Against Florida, she was 1:00.37/2:14.80 in her 100/200 breast.
At the Tennessee Invite, which featured LCM prelims and SCY finals, Weber was 1:07.99 in the 100 breast prelims, followed by a 59.02 in the final. Both were season-bests. She was also 2:11.72 in her 200 breast, a season-best.
Against NC State and UNC, Weber dipped under 1:00 in her 100 breast for the first time in-season with a 59.93. She also posted a season-best 2:11.40.
As she did in 2023, Weber posted a PB in the 200 breast at the Cavalier invite in the lead-up to ACCs. She won in a big best time of 2:07.08, a 1.33 second PB. She also posted a season-best 58.81 100 breast. At ACCs, Weber was again off that 200 breast PB with a 2:09.34 in prelims and a 2:10.54 for 7th in finals. She matched her season best with a 58.81 for 3rd in the 200 breast.
Weber was firing on all cylinders at NCAAs. On day 3, she posted a 58.57 100 breast. That was a PB and good for 10th back. In the final, Weber dropped even more with a 58.39 but ended up 11th. In the 200 breast prelims, she posted her 2nd-fastest swim ever with a 2:07.44 to make it back 11th but added to a 2:08.13 for 15th in the final.
National/International Swimming
2020(1) US Olympic Team Trials–Wave 2 (Omaha, Nebraska)
Weber was just off her 100 breast PB in prelims with a 1:08.30 for 12th to qualify for the semis. There, she came even closer to her PB with a 1:08.18 to maintain seed and miss the final by just under a second. That still earned her a spot on the roster of US junior swimmers sent to the 2021 FINA World Cup circuit in place of the canceled 2021 World Junior Swimming Championship.
2021 Summer Nationals–West (Irvine, California)
Webber finally returned to full form in the 200 breast, clocking her first PB in 2 years. In the final, she shaved almost a second off her PB with a 2:29.05 to finish runner-up behind Mac Looze. After that swim, Weber returned in the 100 breast. Facing off against Kaitlyn Dobler, Weber opened in a 31.97 before chagrin home in a 35.65 to nearly catch Dobler. Her 1:07.62 was a .42 second PB and made Weber #7 in the 17-18 NAG rankings as a 17-year-old.
2021 FINA World Cup (Multi-stop)
Weber impressed at the Berlin stop, placing 4th in the 100 breast with a 1:06.24. She was a little off that with a 1:06.54 for 4th in Budapest. She also placed 3rd in the 50 breast there with a 30.73.
2022 US International Team Trials (Greensboro, North Carolina)
Weber placed as high as 9th in the 50 breast, clocking a PB of 31.60, resetting her PB of 31.73 set in prelims to win the “B” final. She also placed 9th in the 100 breast with a season-best 1:08.85. She also clocked a season-best in the 200 breast with a 2:31.44 for 16th.
2022 Summer National Championships (Irvine, California)
Weber was faster than the times she put up in April at the International Team Trials, placing 4th in the 100 breast with a 1:08.16 and 25th in the 200 breast with a 2:30.16.
2023 US International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
After improving in the SCY pool at UVA in her freshman season, Weber made 3 “A” finals at US International Team Trials. On day 2, Weber moved through the 200 breast prelims in 6th with a huge PB of 2:27.34, a 1.79-second drop. She was even faster in the finale with a 2:27.08 to maintain seed. Day 3 prelims saw her crush a 50 breast PB of 30.92 to make it back in 6th. That was Weber’s first sub-31-second 50 breast. She added .1 seconds in the final to place 8th.
Weber really shone in the 100 breast. She neared her PB in prelims with a 1:07.72 for another 6th seed into finals. There, she went to work, turning in 4th behind a Lilly King/Lydia Jacoby/Kaitlyn Dobler battle. Those 3 were in a class of their own but Weber split 31.43/35.96 to place 4th with a 1:07.39 PB. Her swims in this and the 200 qualified her for the Pan American Games in the fall.
2023 Pan American Games (Santiago, Chile)
Taking time out of her college season, Weber finished 5th in the 100 breast (1:08.13) and 6th in the 200 breast (2:31.01).
2024 Pro Swim Series– San Antonio
Coming of NCAAs, Weber had a phenomenal swim to take 2nd in the 100 breast. She turned in a time of 1:06.50, which was nearly a second faster than her previous best time from last summer.
2024 US Olympic Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Coming into trials, the women’s 100 breast seemed like a race between Lilly King and Lydia Jacoby with a small chance for Kaitlyn Dobler. We pegged Webber for 4th after her big swim in San Antonio. In the prelims, Weber neared her PB with a 1:06.67 for the 2nd seed into the semis. Swimming in the middle of the 1st semi, Weber shaved .02 seconds off her PB with a 1:06.48 to place 3rd across both semis.
In the final, with Lydia Jacoby a little off her game, Weber seized the moment. She was out 4th at the 50 with a 31.01, sitting .3 seconds back of leader Lilly King. She used an incredible 35.09 back 50 with a remarkably high stroke rate to pull past both Dobler and Jacoby over the back half and place 2nd, behind only King. Her 1:06.10 was a PB by .38 seconds and good enough to qualify for her first Olympic Games.
“I looked up I go ‘I don’t think that’s right,’” said Weber post-race.
