Small Alaska town embraces state's 1st swimmer to win gold

SEWARD, Alaska (AP) — An Olympic buzz permeates an Alaska coastal community thousands of miles away from Japan and nearly a full day after Lydia Jacoby scored a major upset to bring home gold in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke at the Tokyo Games.

Jacoby, a 17-year-old who will return for her senior year of high school in Seward, was the first Alaskan to ever qualify for the Olympics in swimming.

“We were hoping for a medal, but for her to hit the wall first was just beyond any of our expectations,” said Sarah Spanos, a swim mom who volunteers with the small team that Jacoby belongs to, the...

 

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