U.S. Olympic gold swimmer Lydia Jacoby also plays bluegrass
July 28, 2021 10:48AM CDT
17-year-old Lydia Jacoby’s come-from-behind swim to win Gold in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Summer Olympics this week has been one of the best storylines of the Games so far.
Maybe as unusual as Lydia’s swimming origins (the icy waters of Alaska don’t produce many world-class swimmers) is another of her talents.
“In my town (Seward, Alaska), we used to have a bluegrass camp for kids every summer,” she said. “There’s a group of us that really enjoyed it, so our parents kind of brought us together.”
According to Bluegrass Today, the result was the ‘Snow River String Band’. Lydia plays upright bass and sings. She also plays guitar in the group.
This video was taken at the 2018 Anchorage Folk Festival.