Tokyo, Japan - Team USA earned another spot atop the medal podium by coming in first in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke finals at the 2020 Tokyo summer games.

At just 17, Lydia Jacoby shocked the world and won gold by overcoming the favorites in this race. This wasn't only the first Olympic medal in her career –she also made history as the first US Olympic swimmer hailing from the Alaska, as well as the state's first gold medal winner.

Before this race, the defending Olympic champion, American Lilly King, and South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker were the two competitors who most thought would battle it out for gold and silver.

The two have a considerable rivalry that grabbed most of the pre-event attention, but Jacoby practically came out of nowhere to make a name for herself in Tuesday’s sprint in the pool. She finished with an astonishing time of 1 minute and 4.95 seconds.

"I was definitely racing for a medal. I knew I had it in me," Jacoby said in her post-race comments. "I wasn’t really expecting a gold medal, so when I looked up and saw the scoreboard it was insane."

Schoenmaker was just behind Jacoby and finished second with a time of 1 minute and 5.22 seconds, while US teammate King finished in third for bronze at 1 minute and 5.54 seconds.

Team USA also collected a couple more swimming medals, as Regan Smith and Ryan Murphy won bronze in the women’s and men's 100-meter backstroke, respectively.