Lydia Jacoby is rediscovering her love for swimming in an unlikely location: Madrid, Spain.
The city is hours away from the nearest sea, a far cry from the Tokyo 2020 100m breaststroke Olympic gold medallist’s upbringing in Seward, Alaska.
But the Spanish capital does have a thriving gastronomic, music, and fashion scene, which the University of Texas star has been enjoying to the fullest while studying there for a semester.
It was exactly the break the textiles and advertising student needed after a roller-coaster Olympic cycle.
“Missing the Olympic team for Paris 2024 by 0.03 (seconds) was a moment where I realised that I wasn’t pursuing the sport for all the right reasons in my heart. I have been competing since I was 12,…