Arena announced a sponsorship contract with Lydia Jacoby, the phenomenal 17-year-old Olympic breaststroke champion. It is described as the first such deal signed since the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) imposed its new NIL (name, image and likeness) rules last July 1st. Jacoby surprised everybody when she won the gold medal in the 100m breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympics on July 27, beating both the current world record holder and the strong favorite for the title. Born in the small seaside Alaskan town of Seward, where she has been training at the Seward Tsunami Swim Club since the age of six, she broke her first Alaska state record at the age of 12 and became junior national champion in the 100m breaststroke in 2019. The Covid pandemic made her training problematic last year. Yet, she finished second at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, becoming the first Alaskan swimmer to join the U.S. Olympic Team. In Tokyo, she became the sixth female swimmer in history to break the 1:05-minute hurdle in the 100m breaststroke. Four days later, she also helped the U.S. women’s 4x100m medley relay team to win a silver medal. Mark Pinger, general manager of Arena North America, said she will be a “determined, courageous, positive, upbeat” ambassador for the brand.
