Regan Smith breaks her own 100m backstroke American record at Speedo Grand Challenge 2024

Three-time Olympic medalist, Regan Smith produced a superb performance on Sunday (May 26) to script her name in the history books. This came during the USMS (US Masters Swimming) and USA Swimming-sanctioned Speedo Grand Challenge held between May 24 and 26 at the Irvine High School.

Smith touched the finishing line of the 100m Backstroke event in just 57.51 seconds thereby breaking her personal American record of 57.57 seconds which she had set in the Women's 4x100m medley event of the 2019 Aquatics World Championships.

However, at a global level in the 100m Backstroke event, Smith is still in second place behind the three-time Olympic gold medalist from Australia, Kaylee McKeown (57.33).

In terms of a split comparison of both her records, the 22-year-old started slowly in the event on Sunday as compared to her old record. However, she accelerated quite superbly in the final 50m split of the race taking 0.06 seconds off her earlier record and also clinching the top position on the podium.

She was followed by the 20-year-old USC Trojan Swimmer, Justina Kozan who registered a duration of 1:02.58 while Delaney Herr from the Beach Cities Swimming Club finished in the third place of the event with 1:03.20.

Besides the 100m backstroke event, Regan Smith also registered praiseworthy performances in the 100m Butterfly and 200m freestyle events of the Speedo Grand Challenge, registering durations of 56.26 and 1:57.23 respectively.

With this form and momentum, Smith will be quite confident going at the trials for the US Olympic Swimming team scheduled next month (June 15-23) in Indianapolis.

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Regan Smith opens up about working with Bob Bowman

Regan Smith at the San Antonio TYR Pro Swim Series

Regan Smith started his collegiate career for the Stanford Cardinal in 2021. However, just after a season with the Cardinals, the Minnesota native left the side to pursue her professional career in swimming.

Following this she joined the legendary swimmer Michael Phelps' coach Bob Bowman's group at the Arizona State University in Tampa. The major reason for Smith to join Bowman was the immense experience that the latter had.

In an interview with Olympics.com, the 22-year-old elaborated on her experience of working with the legendary stature of Bowman. She stated:

"I think just day-to-day the things that I really love and respect about Bob is that like he doesn't cut corners, you know, he's just very like, ‘Let's get to work, let's get our work done and let's get out of here’. He's very efficient. He's very, he's very positive too, which I really appreciate and respect about him."

During her interview, Smith also stated that she was not quite comfortable during her tenure with the Cardinals and had to force a move out for the betterment of her career.