Lilly King makes it 16 in a row, Lydia Jacoby makes first world team at swimming nationals

Lilly King made it another breaststroke sweep at the U.S. Swimming Championships. Lydia Jacoby is going to her first world championships, two years after her shocking Olympic title.

King, the Rio Olympic 100m breast champion, and Jacoby, the Tokyo Olympic 100m breast champion, went one-two in that event on the penultimate night of nationals in Indianapolis.

King, who clocked 1 minute, 4.75 seconds, has now made every every Olympic and world team in every breaststroke event dating to 2016 — now 16 consecutive races. She won the 50m and 200m titles earlier this week.

Jacoby, who finished 41 hundredths behind King on Friday, rebounded from last year’s trials, where she missed the team with finishes of third, fourth and fifth. In 2021, Jacoby, then 17, became the first Alaskan to make an Olympic swim team, then beat a field including King in the final in Tokyo.

Nationals finish Saturday, live on Peacock . Caeleb Dressel, who has not made the world championships team yet, is expected to swim his last event, the 50m freestyle.

SWIMMING NATIONALS: Broadcast Schedule | Results

Also Friday, Regan Smith swam the third-fastest 100m backstroke in U.S. history for her third title of the week. Smith, the reigning world champ in the event, also won the 200m butterfly and 200m back.

Katie Ledecky earned her second title of the week, taking the 400m free in 4:00.45. Ledecky has the 36 fastest times in U.S. history, according to World Aquatics. She has one event left, the 1500m free on Saturday.

Hunter Armstrong out-touched 2016 Olympic champ Ryan Murphy by six hundredths in the men’s 100m back. They’ll go back to worlds after taking silver (Murphy) and bronze (Armstrong) in 2022.

Nic Fink added the men’s 100m breast title to his 50m crown. Fink, who turns 30 on Monday, is likely to be the oldest member of the world team.

David Johnston was the upset winner of the men’s 400m free, overtaking Olympic bronze medalist Kieran Smith in the last 100 meters. Between 2022 and 2023, Johnston had finished third or fourth in four different trials finals where the top two made the team.

Smith wins 100m backstroke for third title

Regan Smith claimed her third national title of the week and just misses breaking her own American record as she hangs on to win the women’s 100m backstroke at the U.S. Swimming National Championships.