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Regan Smith, the three-time Olympic medalist, initially had a rough patch at the start of 2022. But before ending the year, she returned to her old world-record form after a great outing at the US Open.
Smith struggled through the long course of the 200-meter backstroke throughout 2021 and the beginning of 2022 as she attempted to match the incredible time she achieved in 2019. At that time, Regan Smith thought of dropping the 200-meter backstroke altogether. She has regained her ability to maintain her desired swimming tempo and maintain race control. She stated talking to swimmigworldmagazine.com,
“When I broke my world record, for example, it felt like I was just going. I could keep going. I could hold the same pace forever. I kind of felt like a superhero... Every 200 back after that, I kind of felt like I was holding on for dear life. I was scared to go out fast, and coming back on the second 100 would always hurt so bad no matter what.”
Regan Smith's US Open record-breaking outing
Regan Smith was competing in the 200-meter backstroke final at the US Open in early December, a competition that isn't exactly the pinnacle of a top swimmer's season. The 20-year-old Smith was euphoric after winning the race by over two seconds. The feeling was unstoppable despite the exhaustion of a 200-meter backstroke and the impending 200-meter butterfly final, which was less than an hour away.
This was over two seconds slower than Smith's previous record of 200 back. However, it was the quickest time she had set in more than three years. In fact, it was the fastest time she had ever set before the 2019 World Championships when Missy Franklin's global record was broken in the quarterfinals, and she won her first world title the following night.
Regan Smith's 200-meter backstroke set a good tone that influenced her overall performance in the competition and her overall mood. She saw her time of 2:05.28 after the US Open championship.
Regan Smith overcomes rough patch
She was on pace to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 after 2019, but the one-year postponement to 2021 did not help her. She made the Olympic squad and took home three medals but could not make the team in the 200-meter backstroke due to her shocking third-place performance at the US Olympic Trials behind Rhyan White and Phoebe Bacon. Regan Smith again almost missed the 200-meter mark at the 2021 International Team Trials, finishing behind Bacon and White.
Regan Smith already has a full schedule with her typical events, so it does not matter if her journey into the 200-meter IM turns out to be serious. She is giddy with anticipation about what may be possible six months from now when the next World Championships squad is chosen after that little introduction to Bob Bowman's training and the extremely promising early results. The possibility of returning to her 2019 peak, which included a 200-meter backstroke world record and a still-standing 100-meter backstroke American mark (57.57), seems more tangible.
