Forget about rose-colored glasses, since Olympian Lydia Jacoby is poised to make a different type of eyewear the new thing.
The 17-year-old Alaskan swimmer took gold in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2020 Tokyo Games on Monday, July 26, and she did so while wearing the same pair of pink goggles she first started wearing as a youngster.
Former Olympic swimmer Jessica Hardy, who won two medals in the pool at the 2012 London Games, tweeted before the event that she met Jacoby years ago in Alaska and gave her the pair of pink goggles that the teen still competes in to this day.
"Pink goggle watch!" Hardy, 34, wrote. "Help me cheer on Lydia Jacoby in tonight's 100 breaststroke final 7:17PM PST. Met this girl hosting a clinic at her home pool in Alaska 5 years ago &she's still racing in my goggles since. Go get em Lydia [bicep, flag and hearts emojis]. proud of you no matter what happens!"
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Jacoby was a surprise winner in the race, topping fellow Team USA swimmer Lilly King, who won gold in the event at the 2016 Rio Games. King earned bronze this year.
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"I definitely stretched myself out yesterday, so I was trying to feel good and feel happy going into it, and I feel like I did that," Jacoby told NBC after the race.
When the athlete, who became the first Alaskan swimmer to earn a gold medal, was shown footage of family and supporters in her home state cheering her on, she expressed gratitude for the people who've helped her throughout the journey.
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"Thank you for all the support and everything over these years," Jacoby shared. "It's been amazing."
King, 24, told NBC that she was honored to join Jacoby on the podium. "We love to keep that gold in the USA family," King said. "So this kid just had the swim of her life, and I am so proud to be her teammate, and proud to get bronze for my country."
