2024 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
- June 15-23, 2024
- Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN
- LCM (50 Meters)
- Meet Central
- Broadcast Info
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- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
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- Prelims Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
- Finals Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
Lydia Jacoby has announced over Instagram that she has scratched the women’s 200 breaststroke, one of only two events she was entered in at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
View this post on Instagram
I am not defined by my results.
I am more than an athlete.
I will be back.
And I will be better.I have made the decision to scratch from the 200 breaststroke later this week in order to process and rejuvenate.
I wish the best of luck to my incredible teammates in Paris and will be cheering loudly from home ♥️ go USA!!!
Jacoby is the reigning gold medalist in the 100 breaststroke, but was denied the chance to defend her title in Paris this summer when she finished 3rd behind Lilly King and Emma Weber. She had a strong rally in the last 25 meters of the race, but it wasn’t enough to secure her second Olympic berth in the event. She finished in 1:06.37, over a second back of her entry time of 1:05.16.
The Alaska-native was the 3rd seed in the 200 breast (2:24.03), behind American record holder Kate Douglass and King. She swam that time at the 2023 Barcelona stop of the Mare Nostrum tour, but hasn’t logged a time in the event since December 2023.
It looks like a tall order to disrupt the top two, with King looking on-form at this meet and Douglass setting the American record earlier this year.
Now look the other way look at the Texas men’s coach Eddie Reese. Everyone is hating on Carol but they still got second at NCAA with basically a 0% chance of winning it because of UVA. Texas has gone 2, 3, 7. Theirs a reason big names left this season to train by themselves or like Carson have Wyatt coach him more. They had badass recruits of course they are doing well like germonprez, modglin, Scholtz everyone else bad season. Sophomore class truthfully enyeart regressed and one sophomore Filipovic made NCAA as a relays swimmer and didn’t even swim. These guys were good enough that by year 2 at Texas they should be making ncaa. The junior class is decimated… Read more »
She was like the “Megan Quann” of this generation. Back in Sydney 2000 when Megan Quann won the gold medal at the 100m breast, many people were crazy at her, especially in her hometown in Puyallup, Washington.
By the way, who remembers her? That was 24 years ago!
Meanwhile, the 15 yo girl who won silver behind Quann went on to become on of the greatest, if not the greatest, female backstrokers of all time.
Also, Quann didn’t make it to the 2004 Olympics, she was placed 3rd? during the trials.
However, she had a brief comeback at the Beijing 2008 Olympics at age 24 (under her married name Megan Jendrick), winning silver at the heats only.
I do. Megan Jendrick now
You will find most of us up in the upper left USA fondly remember Megan Jendrick. Great kid who went through a whole lot of obstacles, but seemed to always be smiling. Although never finding her same 2000 success, she was 3rd by a hair behind two great swimmers in 2004. While not a major meet, her first one back out of retirement was World University’s where she won a few gold. After that, medaled at Pan Pacifics and probably culminated with a pretty darn surprising silver in the 200m at World Championships (didn’t see that coming for the fast 100 swimmer!). Did at least make the team in 2008 but wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders (I believe she… Read more »
US Olympic swim trials are BRUTAL & UNFORGIVING. & the expectations that are piled onto elite competitors are also brutal & unforgiving, including some posters in these forums. Maybe she just didn’t have any more to give after that race. Maybe she wanted to get back to Alaska sooner rather than later. Maybe it just hurt too much to stay. She’s 20 yrs old, & the public microscope that’s on her & all the competitors can be pretty harsh. Some thrive in the spotlight, others wilt, & most of us, I’m guessing, are more deer-in-the-headlights than anything. (Just don’t get hit by the car!!!) She did what she thought she needed to do, & all the bloviating about what she… Read more »
Hopefully she can take a nice vacation until school starts, maybe even taking the first semester off. Enjoy summer in Alaska and wherever she wants to go.
Congrats on finishing a tough season! You deserve that.
If anything, don’t promise to be back and better. You don’t owe the world “better”. You don’t have to commit to swimming until the next trials. Focus on the process, not the results.
Take care of yourself!
She is great. College students can use a summer break to reset.
The queen is prioritizing her mental health. She will be back better than ever, #girlbosslydia
As somebody who has been in finals before, it is a very stressful situation and it haunts you the minutes and hours leading up to your second swim. I was never expected to get top 2, and I did not in my event, nor did I ever qualify for finals again in my day. However, I will say that I completely understand Lydia’s decision to not swim another race. It’s mentally grueling just doing it once, and going through the same process again would be even more difficult.
Eh, she was one better turn away from making it to paris in the 100 (and where was her coach to tell her from semi’s to finals to take 2 shorter, but quicker strokes rather than 1 really long, slow stroke to the turn wall??). I think she sees the writing on the wall that King is in good form, and Douglass will not be beatable…I don’t necessarily believe in the, “If I don’t think I’ll win, I won’t even try” approach, but under the umbrella of ‘mental health’, I guess it is what it is. For some people, that’s acceptable.
For me, I would’ve swam the race…found out where you were at. She says she’ll be back better…but she… Read more »
Doh! Why didn’t anyone think to say that?!???! Get down on deck, Jim, and help these absent minded, dumb coaches out.