By Annika Johnson on SwimSwam
Tokyo Olympic Games
- Friday, July 22 – Sunday, August 8, 2021
- Swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
- Tokyo, Japan
Women’s 100 Breast
- World Record: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.13 (2017)
- Olympic Record: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.93 (2016)
- World Junior Record: Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) – 1:05.21 (2014)
- 2016 Olympic Champion: Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.93
One of the most well-known rivalries on the Olympic swimming stage is between Team USA’s Lilly King and Russia’s Yulia Efimova, the top two swimmers in the 100 breast since the 2016 Olympics.
Lilly King (photo: Jack Spitser)
Yuliya Efimova (photo: Jack Spitser)
In Rio, Efimova won the first 100 breast semifinal and wagged her finger to show the number “one.” This was amid her own doping controversy (she had had two doping infractions during her career and was cleared to compete in Rio the day of the 100 breast prelims race.)
King won the second semifinal two and wagged her finger in response. She explained the move to an NBC reporter: “You wave your finger number one and you’ve been caught drug cheating…I’m not a fan,” King said.
King won gold in the event about .60 ahead of silver medalist Efimova. Team USA’s Katie Meili, who has since retired, won bronze. Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte, the World Record holder before King broke her record in 2017, has also retired.
Efimova and King are set to showdown in this event yet again in Tokyo. Their most recent duel was at the 2017 World Championships where King blasted the World Record time of 1:04.13 to win gold. Efimova swam a 1:04.36 in the semifinals, but finished 3rd in the final after Meili with a 1:05.05.
King’s World Record and Efimova’s 1:04.36 are still the fastest 100 breast times since the 2016 Rio Olympics:
Top Times During 2016-2021 Olympic Cycle
- 1:04.13 – Lilly King, USA
- 1:04.36 – Yuliya Efimova, RUS
- 1:05.03 – Katie Meili, USA
- 1:05.06 – Ruta Meilutyte, LTU
- 1:05.28 – Lydia Jacoby, USA)
- 1:05.37 – Annie Lazor, USA
- 1:05.67 – Arianna Castiglioni, ITA
- 1:05.69 – Sophie Hansson, SWE
- 1:05.74 – Tatjana Shoenmaker, RSA
- 1:05.75 – Bethany Galat, USA
King will be racing the 100 breast and 200 breast while Efimova is only scheduled to race the 100 breast, according to Russia’s Olympic roster. The two-time World Champion already said she would be focusing on the 100, though, back in May.
But this event is no longer a two-woman show. The women’s 100 breast field has gotten significantly more competitive in the past 18 months, compared to the global 100 breast field in 2016.
Lydia Jacoby (photo: Jack Spitser)
For example, 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby of Team USA earned her spot among the top breaststrokers in the world by posting a 1:05.28 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. She will represent the U.S. alongside King in Tokyo.
Jacoby grabbed the world’s attention when she raced King and King’s training partner Annie Lazor at the 2021 Mission Viejo Pro Swim Series in April. She took 2nd place behind King with a 1:06.38.
That was a lifetime best for Jacoby, which she promptly destroyed two months later at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a 1:05.28.
They are ranked 1-2 in the world this season:
2020-2021 World Rankings
- Lilly King (USA) – 1:04.72
- Lydia Jacoby (USA) – 1:05.28
- Annie Lazor (USA) – 1:05.37
- Arianna Castiglioni (ITA) – 1:05.67
- Sophie Hansson (SWE) – 1:05.69
- Tatjana Shoenmaker (RSA) – 1:05.74
- Bethany Galat (USA) – 1:05.75
- Bendetta Pilato (ITA) – 1:05.84
- Martina Carraro (ITA) – 1:05.86
- Chelsea Hodges (AUS) – 1:05.99
This season the 100 breast has been a relatively American-dominated event. Note that USA’s Lazor and Bethany Galatwill not contest the event, although they are among the top 10 fastest 100 breaststrokers since the Rio Olympics. Lazor will compete in the 200 breast alongside King in Tokyo.
Sophie Hansson at DI Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships on March 20, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
CARRARO Martina, Fiamme Azzurre
100 rana donne
Riccione 02/04/2021 Stadio del Nuoto
Campionati Italiani Assoulti primaverili di Nuoto 2021
Photo © Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
At the recent European Championships in May, Sweden’s Sophie Hansson showed her dominance in this event by winning gold with a time of 1:05.69. Arianna Castiglioni of Italy won silver (1:06.13) and her teammate Martina Carraro claimed bronze .09 after her.
Efimova finished 4th with a 1:06.33, .10 off her season-best time from April. But she did bounce back at the Mare Nostrum Series in June, sweeping the 50, 100, and 200 breast.
22-year-old Hansson has made significant progress in this event since 2016. She finished in 27th place in the 100 breast at the Rio Olympics with a time of 1:08.67.
While Castiglioni posted a lifetime best time of 1:05.67 at the 58th Sette Colli meet, she will not be swimming this event in Tokyo. She is qualified only for the 4×