Regan Smith (; born February 9, 2002) is an American competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who specializes in

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

and

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

events. As a teenager, Smith was regarded as the best American swimmer of her age group. She broke out on the international stage at the 2019 World Championships, winning two gold medals. At the

2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, Smith won three medals. She then won two gold medals at the 2022 World Championships and five medals, including 1 gold, at the 2023 World Championships. At the

2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, Smith won five medals, including two golds. She won seven medals, including four golds, at the 2024 Short Course World Championships. Smith holds the long course world record in the 100 m backstroke and formerly held the record in the 200 m backstroke. She holds the short course world records in the 50 m backstroke, 100 m backstroke, and 200 m backstroke.

Career

Early career

Smith started swimming at the Foss Swim School in 2007. When Smith was 12, she achieved multiple new age-group records and won medals at high school state meets. Following these successes, she joined Apple Valley's Riptide Swim Club and began to receive coaching from Mike Parratto, who was known for coaching 12-time Olympic medalist

Jenny Thompson Jennifer Beth Thompson (born February 26, 1973) is an American former competition swimmer and anesthesiologist. She is one of the most decorated Olympians in history: twelve medals, including eight gold medals, in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 200 ...

. By the time she was 14, Smith was competing at meets with Olympians such as

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (née Franklin; born May 10, 1995) is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course) from 2012 to 2019. As a member of the ...

and

Katie Ledecky Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky ( ; born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. She is the List of individual gold medalists in swimming at the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships (women)#Title leaders, most deco ...

. Smith competed at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials."Regan Smith"
worldaquatics.com. Retrieved November 5, 2024. In 2016, she became a member of the U.S. national junior team and set national age group records in the 100 y backstroke, 100 y butterfly, and 100 m backstroke. She was named the 2016 Age Group Swimmer of the Year for 13–14 year-olds.Lepesant, Anne (December 22, 2016)
"2016 Swammy Awards: Age Group Swimmer Of The Year — 13 – 14"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

''. Retrieved October 5, 2021.

2017

In July 2017, Smith competed in her first major international meet at the 2017 World Championships. She qualified for the 200 m backstroke event final and finished eighth. In August, Smith won gold medals in the 100 m backstroke and 200 m backstroke at the 2017 World Junior Championships. In the 100 m final, she broke Missy Franklin's 15–16 national age group record, as well as the world junior record previously set by

Taylor Ruck Taylor Madison Ruck (born May 28, 2000) is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She won two Olympic bronze medals as part of Canada's women's 4×100 metre and 4×200 metre freestyle relay teams at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Ruck wo ...

in the semifinals. Smith also won silver medals in the 4×100 medley relay and 4×100 mixed medley relay. She was awarded the 2017 National Age Group Swimmer of the Year for 15–16 year-olds.

2018

At the 2018 U.S. National Championships in July, Smith set a new world junior record when she and

Kathleen Baker Kathleen Baker (born February 28, 1997) is an American competition swimming (sport), swimmer who specializes in freestyle swimming, freestyle and backstroke swimming, backstroke events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in the Sw ...

(at the time the world record holder for the 100 m backstroke) tied for first in the 200 m backstroke with a time of 2:06.43. Smith also finished third in both the 100 m backstroke and 200 m butterfly. In August 2018, Smith won her first senior international medal by taking bronze in the 200 m backstroke at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo. She wrapped up 2018 by earning the Age Group Swimmer of the Year title for the third time in her career and the second time consecutively in the age group (15–16 year-olds).

2019

2019 World Championships

At the 2019 World Championships in

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

, South Korea, Smith competed in one individual event, the 200 m backstroke. In the heats and semifinals, she asserted herself as the favorite, recording a time of 2:06.01 in the heats and consequently breaking her own world junior record. In the semifinals, she surged away from the rest of the field and opened up a lead of two body lengths by the last 25 meters. She touched the wall with a time of 2:03.35, shattering

's world record of 2:04.06 that had stood since 2012. The next day in the final, Smith won her first World Championship title, claiming gold by a margin of more than two and a half seconds. She was well under her world record pace with a 100-meter split of 59.45 (a time that would have placed sixth in the 100 m backstroke final held earlier). Smith's pace fell off at the end, but she still managed to finish with the second-fastest 200 m backstroke ever with a time of 2:03.69. Despite not qualifying for an individual spot in the 100 m backstroke, Smith was chosen as the backstroke leg for the United States in the 4×100 m medley relay final. She won gold along with

Lilly King Lillia Camille King (born February 10, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer who specialized in breaststroke. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke competition and also won a gold medal in the 4x1 ...

, Kelsi Dahlia, and

Simone Manuel ] Simone Ashley Manuel (born August 2, 1996) is an American professional Swimming (sport), swimmer specializing in Freestyle swimming, freestyle events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, she won two gold and two silver medals: gold ...

, with a world-record time of 3:50.40 to break the previous mark of 3:51.55 set in 2017. As the lead-off leg, Smith's split time was eligible for an official world record. Her lead-off split of 57.57 broke

's 100 m backstroke world record of 58.00. Smith was awarded List of Swimming World Swimmers of the Year#American Swimmers of the Year, 2019 American Swimmer of the Year and World Swimmer of the Year for her achievements in 2019 by ''

Swimming World } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

''. She was also named 2019 National Age Group Swimmer of the Year (17–18 year-olds) by ''

'', her fourth such award of her career. For the year, she also received the Swammy Awards for World Junior Female Swimmer of the Year, becoming the first American swimmer to win the award, and Female Swimmer of the Year.Dornan, Ben (December 22, 2019)
"2019 Swammy Awards: World Junior Female Swimmer of the Year Regan Smith"
''

''. Retrieved June 12, 2021.Neidigh, Lauren (December 31, 2019)
"2019 Swammy Awards: Female Swimmer of the Year Regan Smith"
''

''. Retrieved June 12, 2021.

2020

2020 U.S. Open Championships

In 2020, Smith graduated from

Lakeville North High School Lakeville North High School (LNHS) is a public high school in northern Lakeville, Minnesota, United States. Formerly Lakeville Senior High School, LNHS received its current name when a second high school, Lakeville South High School, was built ...

Lakeville, Minnesota Lakeville is an exurb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and the largest city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is about south of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul along Interstate 35 in Minnesota, Interstate 35. Lakeville w ...

. At the 2020 U.S. Open Championships, contested in December in a virtual competition format, Smith won the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly with a 2:08.61 and the silver medal in the 100 m backstroke with a 59.95. She placed fourth in the 200 m backstroke with a 2:11.74, fifth in the 100 m butterfly with a 58.09, and ninth in the 200 m individual medley with a 2:15.20.Hy-Tek (November 16, 2020)
"2020 Toyota US Open Championships: Compiled Results"
. ''

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overa ...

''. Retrieved February 3, 2023.

2021

2020 U.S. Olympic Trials

In June 2021, Smith competed at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials and qualified for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She won the 100 m backstroke final with a time of 58.35.Gibbs, Robert (June 15, 2021)
"Regan Smith on Kaylee McKeown's Record-Breaking Swim: "It Inspired Me.""
''

''. Retrieved June 15, 2021.Shinn, Peggy (June 16, 2021)
"Back on Track: Ryan Murphy and Regan Smith Qualify For Tokyo In the 100 Backstroke"
''TeamUSA.org''. Retrieved June 16, 2021. Earlier in the competition, she set a new U.S. Open record of 57.92 when she won the semifinals of the 100 m backstroke."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 100m Backstroke Semifinals Results Summary"
''

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''Louis Brandt et Fils'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

''. June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 14, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 14, 2021. Smith also swam a 57.73 in the semifinals of the 100 m butterfly, ranked sixth, qualified for the final, and did not swim in the event final."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 100m Butterfly Semifinals Results Summary"
''

''. June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021. On day four of the Olympic Trials, Smith advanced to the final of the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:07.89 and ranking second overall in the semifinals."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Butterfly Semifinals Results Summary"
''

''. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 16, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 4 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 16, 2021.Zaccardi, Nick (June 16, 2021)
"Katie Ledecky, after chats with legends, wins two races in one night at Olympic Swimming Trials"
''

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

''. Retrieved June 16, 2021. In the final, she placed second with a time of 2:06.99, qualifying to swim the event at the Olympic Games."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Butterfly Final Results Summary"
''

''. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 17, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 5 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 17, 2021. Smith competed in the preliminary heats of the 200 m backstroke on day six of the trials, swimming a 2:07.81 and advancing to the semifinals."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Backstroke Heats Results Summary"
''

''. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.Anderson, Jared (June 18, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 6 Prelims Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 18, 2021. In the evening semifinals, she ranked first with a time of 2:07.23 and qualified for the final."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Backstroke Semifinals Results Summary"
''

''. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 18, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 6 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 18, 2021. In the 200 m backstroke final, she finished third with a time of 2:06.79 and did not qualify to swim the event at the Olympic Games."2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Backstroke Final Results Summary"
''

''. June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 19, 2021)
"2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 7 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved June 19, 2021.

2020 Olympic Games

Heading into the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Smith was one of 17 entrants in the 200 m butterfly and one of 43 entrants in the 100 m backstroke.Keith, Braden (July 15, 2021)
"Only 17 Swimmers Are Entered in the Women's 200 Fly for Tokyo Olympics"
''

''. Retrieved July 17, 2021. In the prelims of the 100 m backstroke on day two of competition, she advanced to the semifinals and set a new Olympic record in the event with a time of 57.96, which was broken in the last preliminary heat by

Kaylee McKeown Kaylee Rochelle McKeown ( ; born 12 July 2001) is an Australian swimmer and quintuple Olympic gold medalist. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 metres backstroke. She is the world record holder in the long course 50 metre ...

, who swam a 57.88.Molski, Max (July 25, 2021)
"US Olympic Swim Results: Katie Ledecky, Lilly King, Regan Smith advance"
''

NBC Sports Washington Monumental Sports Network, formerly NBC Sports Washington, is an American regional sports network owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sport ...

''. Retrieved July 25, 2021. Smith set the Olympic record again in the semifinals, recording a time of 57.86 and advancing to the final ranked first.Sutherland, James (July 25, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 2 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved July 25, 2021."Regan Smith Sets Olympic Record in 100 Backstroke in Semifinal"
''

KXAS-TV KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alon ...

''. July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021. In the final, she won the bronze medal with a time of 58.05."Minnesota native Regan Smith gets bronze in 100m backstroke"
''

KARE 11 KARE (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Twin Cities area. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Olson Memorial Highway (MN 55) in Golden Va ...

''. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.Blount, Rachel (July 26, 2021)
"Lakeville's Regan Smith wins bronze medal in 100-meter backstroke at Tokyo games"
''

Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...

''. Retrieved July 26, 2021.Brennan, Christine (July 26, 2021)
"Team USA's Regan Smith takes bronze medal in 100 back at Tokyo Olympics"
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. Retrieved July 26, 2021. It was her first Olympic medal.Frederick, Jace (July 26, 2021)
"Lakeville's Regan Smith wins Olympic bronze in 100-meter backstroke"
''

Twin Cities Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey Co ...

''. Retrieved July 26, 2021. In the evening of the fourth day of competition, Smith swam the fourth-fastest time out of all swimmers in the 200 m butterfly prelims and qualified for the semifinals.Anderson, Jared (July 27, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved July 27, 2021.Molski, Max (July 27, 2021)
"Swimming Results: Caeleb Dressel, Regan Smith Move on in Morning Heats"
'' NBC 10''. Retrieved July 27, 2021.Souhan, Jim (July 27, 2021)
"Regan Smith advances to semifinals in 200-meter butterfly with fourth fastest time"
''

''. Retrieved July 27, 2021. In the competition session the following morning, she ranked fourth overall with a time of 2:06.64 in the semifinals and advanced to the final.Souhan, Jim (July 27, 2021)
"Fourth-fastest again, Regan Smith might have 'another gear' for 200 butterfly final"
''

''. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

NBC Olympics ''NBC Olympics'' is the commercial name for the NBC Sports-produced broadcasts of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games as shown in the United States on NBCUniversal platforms. They include the NBC broadcast network and many of the company's cabl ...

(July 27, 2021)
"Hali Flickinger, Regan Smith advance to 200 fly final"
''

KYMA KYMA-DT (channels 11 and 13) is a television station licensed to Yuma, Arizona, United States, serving the Yuma, Arizona–El Centro, California market as an affiliate of CBS and NBC. It is owned by Imagicomm Communications, which maintains ...

''. Retrieved July 27, 2021. She won a silver medal in the final of the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:05.30.Lepesant, Anne (July 28, 2021)
"Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 5 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved July 28, 2021.Frederick, Jace (July 28, 2021)
"Olympics: Lakeville's Regan Smith wins silver in 200 butterfly"
''

''. Retrieved July 28, 2021.Blount, Rachel (July 28, 2021)
"'Shocked' Regan Smith of Lakeville wins her second Olympic medal, this one a silver"
''

''. Retrieved July 28, 2021. On day nine of competition, Smith competed in the 4×100 m medley relay final as the backstroke leg for the U.S. alongside

Lydia Jacoby Lydia Alice Jacoby (born February 29, 2004) is an American professional swimmer. She was the first Alaskan to qualify for an Olympic Games in swimming, competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, where she won the gold medal in the ...

Torri Huske Victoria Huske ( ; Chinese given name: 簡愛, , born December 7, 2002) is an American competitive swimmer and the reigning Olympic champion in the 100-meter butterfly. She holds world records in two relays: the 4x100-meter medley and 4x100-mete ...

, and Abbey Weitzeil. The U.S. won the silver medal with a time of 3:51.73, finishing just 0.13 seconds behind Australia's Olympic-record performance of 3:51.60.

2021 NCAA regular season

Smith started competing collegiately for

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in the fall of 2021. At her first collegiate swim meet, a dual meet against

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

in October, Smith won her two individual events, the 200 y butterfly and the 200 y individual medley, as well as the 4×50-medley relay.Rieder, David (October 1, 2021)
"Regan Smith, Torri Huske Open Stanford Careers With Wins Against San Jose State"
''

''. Retrieved October 7, 2021. On the first day of the 2021 North Caroline State Invitational in November, Smith placed seventh in the 500 y freestyle with a time of 4:43.86 and helped the 4×100 y medley relay place second in 3:28.76, splitting a 50.06 for the backstroke leg of the relay.Hy-Tek (November 20, 2021)
"2021 NC State GAC Invitational: Meet Results"
''meetresults.com''. Retrieved November 20, 2021. On the second day of competition, she placed second in the 4×50 y medley relay with her teammates, swimming a 23.74 on the backstroke leg, won the 100 y backstroke with a final time of 49.97 seconds, and helped win the 4×200 y freestyle relay, splitting a 1:44.95 for the relay's second leg.Lepesant, Anne (November 19, 2021)
"2021 NC State Invitational: Day 2 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved November 20, 2021. In the evening of the third and final day of competition, Smith won the 200 y backstroke in 1:48.91 and the 200 y butterfly in 1:52.48.Rieder, David (November 20, 2021)
"Regan Smith Aces 200 Back-200 Fly Double on Final Night of NC State Invitational"
''

''. Retrieved November 20, 2021. Switching over to long course meters in December, Smith won two individual events on the last day of competition at the 2021 U.S. Open Championships, the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:10.58 and the 200 m backstroke in a new championship record time of 2:07.09.Knowles, Ed (December 5, 2021)
"Katie Ledecky ends dominant 2021 U.S. Open display with another win, Regan Smith claims 2 titles on final night"
'' Olympics.com''. Retrieved December 5, 2021. Earlier in the championships, Smith won the title in the 100 m backstroke, meaning she won each of the three events she competed in during the competition.Sagendorph, Kyle (December 5, 2021)
"Four Sweeps Round Out 2021 Toyota U.S Open"
''

''. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

2022

2022 Pac-12 Championships

Smith started off the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

Championships on day one with two first-place finishes, one in the 4×50 y medley relay, where she swam the backstroke leg of the relay in 23.18, and one in the 4×200 y freestyle relay, where she split a 1:43.19 for the third leg.D'Addona, Dan (February 23, 2022)
"2022 Pac-12 Women's Championships Day 1: Stanford Claims Both Relay Titles"
''

''. Retrieved February 23, 2022. On the third day of competition, Smith placed second in the 100 y butterfly with a 49.87.D'Addona, Dan (February 25, 2022)
"2022 Pac-12 Women's Championships Day 3 Finals: Regan Smith, Kaitlyn Dobler Break Pac-12 Records"
''

''. Retrieved February 25, 2022. In her second event of the evening, the 100 y backstroke, she won the conference title in a new Pac-12 Conference record of 49.50.Edmund, Emma (February 25, 2022)
"Regan Smith Breaks 100 Back Pac-12 Record With 49.50"
''

''. Retrieved February 25, 2022. In her third event of the day, Smith split a 49.23 for the backstroke leg of the 4×100 y medley relay to lower her Pac-12 Conference record in the 100 y backstroke and help achieve a first-place finish in 3:25.54.Keith, Braden (February 25, 2022)
"Regan Smith Re-Breaks Pac-12 Record To Complete Three-Race Session On Friday"
''

''. Retrieved February 25, 2022. On the fourth and final day of competition, she won the 200 y butterfly with a 1:50.99 and helped to win the 4×100 y freestyle relay in 3:09.06, splitting a 47.41 for the third leg.Dornan, Ben (February 26, 2022)
"2022 Pac-12 Women's Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved February 26, 2022.

2022 NCAA Championships

In her first event of the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships, the 4×50 y medley relay, Smith split a 24.31 for the backstroke leg of the relay, helping place tenth with a final time of 1:34.97.D'Addona, Dan (March 16, 2022)
"2022 NCAA Women's Division I Championships: Virginia Claims 200 Medley Relay in Meet Record"
''

''. Retrieved March 16, 2022. For her second event of the first day, she helped win the 4×200 y freestyle relay in a pool record time of 6:48.30, swimming a 1:43.35 for the third leg.Rieder, David (March 16, 2022)
"2022 NCAA Women's Division I Championships: Huske, Ruck, Smith, Forde Dominate for Stanford in 800 Free Relay"
''

''. Retrieved March 16, 2022. On day three, Smith placed third in the 100 y backstroke with a time of 49.96.Rieder, David (March 18, 2022)
"NCAA Women's Championships: Katharine Berkoff Swims 48.74 to Crush 100 Back American Record; Gretchen Walsh Breaks Old Mark"
''

''. Retrieved March 18, 2022. She achieved another third-place finish in her second event of the evening, the 4×100 y medley relay, where she split a 49.81 for the backstroke leg to contribute to a final time of 3:25.63.Lepesant, Anne (March 18, 2022)
"2022 NCAA Division I Women's Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved March 18, 2022. On the fourth and final day of competition, Smith won the 200 y backstroke in 1:47.76, marking her first individual NCAA title, setting a new pool record, and finishing over 1.50 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.Lohn, John (March 19, 2022)
"NCAA Women's Championships: Regan Smith Explodes Late to Run Down Foes For 200 Backstroke Title"
''

''. Retrieved March 19, 2022. In her other two events, she tied for second in the 200 y butterfly with a 1:51.19 and contributed a split of 47.74 seconds to the 4×100 y freestyle relay for the third leg to help achieve a second-place finish in 3:08.97.Lepesant, Anne (March 19, 2022)
"2022 NCAA Division I Women's Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap"
''

''. Retrieved March 19, 2022.Rieder, David (March 19, 2022)
"NCAA Women's Championships: Virginia Caps Off Dominant Meet With American Record in 400 Free Relay"
''

''. Retrieved March 19, 2022. Following the end of the 2021–2022 collegiate season, Smith left Stanford University and turned professional. She started training with coach Bob Bowman and the Sun Devils, based at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

.Forde, Pat (August 9, 2022)
"Three-Time Olympic Medalist Swimmer Regan Smith Turns Pro"
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. Retrieved December 1, 2022. Smith believed she would be able to increase her training intensity with the switch and mentioned her future goals, saying "Bob's leadership and training will have me exactly where I want to be for Paris 2024."OlympicTalk (August 9, 2022)
"Swimmer Regan Smith turns pro, leaves Stanford to be coached by Bob Bowman"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022.

2022 World Championships

At the 2022 U.S. International Team Trials in April in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, Smith qualified for the 2022 World Championships in three individual events, the 50 m backstroke, 100 m backstroke, and 200 m butterfly."2022 FINA World Championships Roster: Version 4"
''

''. May 5, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2023. On day three of the World Championships, held in June in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Smith won the gold medal in the 100 m backstroke with a time of 58.22, finishing less than two-tenths of a second ahead of silver medalist

Kylie Masse Kylie Jacqueline Masse (born January 18, 1996) is a Canadian competitive swimmer. A noted backstroke specialist, she is a five-time Olympic medallist, three-time World Aquatics champion, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and the 20 ...

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

(June 20, 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Women's 100m Backstroke Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved January 4, 2023.

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

(June 20, 2022)
"Lakeville's Regan Smith wins gold at world championships"
''

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington countie ...

''. Retrieved January 4, 2023.Yibo, Cao (June 21, 2022)
"American Smith triumphs in women's 100m backstroke at FINA worlds"
'' The Star''. Retrieved January 4, 2023. Two days later, Smith started off the evening finals session with a fourth-place finish in the 200 m butterfly in a time of 2:06.79.

(June 22, 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Women's 200m Butterfly Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved January 4, 2023. Approximately 30 minutes later, she concluded the day with a tie for fifth-place in the 50 m backstroke, finishing 0.07 seconds behind bronze medalist

Analia Pigrée Analia Pigrée (born 31 July 2001) is a French Guianese swimmer who competes internationally representing France. She is the French record holder in the long course and short course 50 metre backstroke and the short course 100 metre backstrok ...

with a time of 27.47.

(June 22, 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Women's 50m Backstroke Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved January 4, 2023. For her final event of the championships, the 4×100 m medley relay on day eight, she led-off with a 58.40 to contribute to the gold medal-winning time of 3:53.78.

(June 25, 2022)
"19th FINA World Championships Budapest (HUN): Women's 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved January 4, 2023.

2022 U.S. Open Championships

At the 2022 U.S. Open Championships, her first competition following a change of training setting to the Sun Devils professional group at Arizona State, Smith set a personal best time of 2:11.66 in the preliminary heats of the 200 m individual medley on day two.OlympicTalk (August 9, 2022)
"Swimmer Regan Smith turns pro, leaves Stanford to be coached by Bob Bowman"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022.Zacharias, Sidney (December 1, 2022)
"Regan Smith Clocks First PB Since Joining Bowman – 2:11.66 200 IM"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022. In the evening final, she improved upon her personal best time, lowering it to a 2:10.40 to win the gold medal.

(December 1, 2022)
"2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Women's 200m Individual Medley Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022.Rieder, David (December 1, 2022)
"Chase Kalisz, Regan Smith Post Impressive 200 IM Wins at U.S. Open"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022. The following day, she won her second gold medal, achieving a first-place finish in the 100 m butterfly with a time of 57.65.

(December 2, 2022)
"2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Women's 100m Butterfly Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022.Lohn, John (December 2, 2022)
"Regan Smith Doubles At U.S. Open, Including Lightning 100 Backstroke; Katie Ledecky Not Pleased With Win In 200 Freestyle"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022. For her third gold medal, she won the 100 m backstroke with a championship record of 57.95, which was 0.68 seconds faster than the former mark set in 2019 by Phoebe Bacon.

(December 2, 2022)
"2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Women's 100m Backstroke Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022.Li, Yanyan (December 2, 2022)
"Regan Smith Breaks U.S. Open Meet Record With 57.95 100 Back, Faster Than Worlds Final"
''

''. Retrieved December 2, 2022. On day four of four, Smith won the gold medal in the 200 m backstroke with a championship record time of 2:05.28, finishing over a second ahead of silver medalist

Summer McIntosh Summer Ann McIntosh (born August 18, 2006) is a Canadian competitive swimmer. She is a three-time Olympic champion, four-time World Aquatics champion, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. Noted for her strength in medley and butterf ...

(December 3, 2022)
"2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Women's 200m Backstroke Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved December 3, 2022.Li, Yanyan (December 3, 2022)
"Regan Smith Swims Fastest 200 Back Since 2019, Breaks US Open Meet Record (2:05.28)"
''

''. Retrieved December 3, 2022.Sampl, Emily (December 4, 2022)
"Regan Smith Leads Way on Toyota U.S. Open Finale"
''

''. Retrieved December 4, 2022. Later in the same session, she concluded the championships with a fifth gold medal, winning the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:07.30.

(December 3, 2022)
"2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Women's 200m Butterfly Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved December 3, 2022.

2023

2023 TYR Pro Swim Series

In March 2023, at the TYR Pro Swim Series in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

, Smith achieved a pair of personal best times, first placing fourth in the 200 m freestyle with a 1:58.14 on day two, then winning the 100 m butterfly with a time of 56.60 on day three.

(March 3, 2023)
"2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Women's 200m Freestyle Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved March 29, 2023.Eggert, Gregory (March 8, 2023)
"Following success in Florida, Regan Smith sets her sights of Fukuoka"
''

World Aquatics World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

''. Retrieved March 29, 2023. In April 2023, the next leg of the TYR Pro Swim Series took place in

Westmont, Illinois Westmont is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. History The area known as Westmont earlier had been inhabited by the Potawatami. After several failed attempts by the U.S. government to p ...

. Smith qualified for finals in four events, the 200 m butterfly, 100 m backstroke, 200 m backstroke, and 100 m butterfly. She won each of these events. Smith swam a time of 2:04.76 in the 200 m backstroke to break the U.S. Open record.

2023 Sun Devil Open

In June, at the 2023 Sun Devil Open in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

, Smith swam a personal best in the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:03.87, breaking the American record in the process and becoming the first American woman under the 2:04 mark. Her time in the 200 m butterfly was the fourth-fastest time in history. Smith also swam a personal best in the 200 m individual medley with a time of 2:08.48.

2023 World Championships

At the 2023 World Championships in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, Japan, Smith collected five total medals, four individual medals and one relay medal. In her first final of the competition, Smith won a silver medal in the 100 m backstroke with a time of 57.78. During the next day's semifinals, she swam the 50 m backstroke in 27.10, setting an American record. Smith swam two events in the next finals session, the 200 m butterfly and 50 m backstroke. She earned bronze with a time of 2:06.58 in the 200 m butterfly and silver in the 50 m backstroke with a 27.11. Smith earned silver in the 200 m backstroke with a time of 2:04.94. Smith's second place finishes in the backstroke events were behind the world record holder in the 200 m backstroke and 100 m backstroke, Australia's

. For her final race of the competition, Smith swam the backstroke leg of the 4×100 medley relay with a split of 57.68. With a time of 3:52.08, the team consisting of Smith,

Gretchen Walsh Gretchen Claire Walsh (born January 29, 2003) is an American competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer, swimsuit Model (person), model, and the List of world records in swimming, world record holder in the 100 meter butterfly, 4×100 medley relay, mi ...

, and

Kate Douglass Katherine Cadwallader Douglass (born November 17, 2001) is an American competitive swimmer. Douglass is a five-time Olympic medalist, including two golds, and has won 33 medals with 15 golds at the World Championships (combined short and long cou ...

, won the gold medal.

2023 U.S. Open Championships

At the 2023 U.S. Open Championships in

, Smith's performance was highlighted by her results on the final night. She won gold in both the 200 m backstroke and 200 m butterfly by a little over two seconds. She went a 2:04.27 in the 200 m backstroke to go a championship record by over two seconds, set by herself the previous year. In the 200 m butterfly, she went a 2:06.72 to beat the championship record from 1999 by about half a second. The previous meet record was held by

Susie O'Neill Susan O'Neill, (born 2 August 1973) is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career. Early life O'Neill was born on 2 Augu ...

. The previous night, Smith won the 100 m backstroke in a time of 58.16. She had two personal best times at the meet, in the 400 m individual medley and 200 m individual medley, placing third and fifth in each event respectively in times of 4:38.77 and 2:09.50.

2024

2024 Olympic Games

At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Smith won the 100 m backstroke, 200 m backstroke, and 200 m butterfly, and she finished third in the 100 m butterfly. She broke the world record in the 100 m backstroke. At the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Smith won silver medals in the 100 m backstroke, 200 m backstroke, and 200 m butterfly, finishing behind Kaylee McKeown in the backstroke events and behind Summer McIntosh in the butterfly. Smith broke the American record in the 200 m butterfly. She swam in the heats of the 4×100 mixed medley relay, and the U.S. won in the final, earning Smith her first Olympic gold medal. She then swam in the final of the 4×100 medley relay, helping the U.S. win gold.

2024 World Cup

Smith competed in the 2024 World Cup circuit, consisting of three short course meets in October and November. She won nine total events, sweeping all three in the 100 m backstroke and 200 m backstroke, two in the 50 m backstroke, and one in the 200 m butterfly. In the process, Smith broke the short course world records in the 100 m backstroke and 200 m backstroke. She finished second in the overall World Cup standings.Ross, Andy
"Regan Smith collects world record again, Douglass & Marchand take overall World Cup crowns"
worldaquatics.com. November 2, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.

2024 Short Course World Championships

At the 2024 Short Course World Championships in December, Smith competed in seven events, winning four gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. She set personal bests in four events. On December 11, Smith won gold in the 100 m backstroke, breaking the championship record. Later that night, she swam the butterfly leg in the 4 × 50 m mixed medley final, helping the U.S. team win bronze. On December 12, Smith won silver in the 200 m butterfly, breaking the American record. On December 13, she won gold in the 50 m backstroke, breaking the world record.Kaufman, Sophie
"2024 SC World Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap"
swimswam.com. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024. On December 14, she swam the backstroke leg in the 4 × 100 m mixed medley final, helping the U.S. win silver. On December 15, Smith won gold in the 200 m backstroke, breaking her own world record. Later that night, she swam the backstroke leg in the 4 × 100 m medley final, breaking her own individual world record, while helping the U.S. win gold and break the event world record.Kaufman, Sophie
"2024 SC World Championships: Day 6 Finals Live Recap"
swimswam.com. December 15, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.

International championships

: Smith swam only in the preliminaries.

Personal bests

Long course (50 m pool)

Short course (25 m pool)

World records

Long course (50 m pool)

Short course (25 m pool)

Awards and honors

* ''SwimSwam'' Swammy Award, Junior Swimmer of the Year (female): 2019 * ''SwimSwam'' Swammy Award, Age Group Swimmer of the Year 17—18 (female): 2019, 2020Lepesant, Anne (January 3, 2021)
"2020 Swammy Awards: Age Group Swimmer Of The Year — 17–18"
''

''. Retrieved October 5, 2021. * ''SwimSwam'' Swammy Award, Age Group Swimmer of the Year 15—16 (female): 2017, 2018 * ''SwimSwam'' Swammy Award, Age Group Swimmer of the Year 13—14 (female): 2016 * Golden Goggle Award, Breakout Performer of the Year: 2019"Dressel, Manuel win athlete of year honors at Golden Goggles"
''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''. November 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2021. * Golden Goggle Award, Female Race of the Year: 2019 * Golden Goggle Award, Relay Performance of the Year: 2019 * ''

'', World Swimmer of the Year (female): 2019Serowik, Lauren (December 1, 2019)
"Swimming World Presents 2019 Female World and American Swimmer of the Year Regan Smith on the Cover of December 2019 Issue"
''

''. Retrieved October 5, 2021. * ''Swimming World'', American Swimmer of the Year (female): 2019 * ''

'' Swammy Award, Swimmer of the Year (female): 2019 * ''SwimSwam'' Top 100 (Women's): 2021 (#2),Ortegon, Karl (February 16, 2021)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2021: Women's #10 — #1"
''

''. Retrieved October 11, 2021. 2022 (#11)Sutherland, James (January 19, 2022)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Women's #20–11"
''

''. Retrieved January 19, 2022. *

, Swimmer of the Year (women's): 2022"Pac-12 Announces 2022 Women's Swimming & Diving Postseason Awards"
''

''. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022. * Pac-12 Conference, Freshman of the Year (women's): 2022 * Pac-12 Conference, Swimmer of the Week (women's): January 26, 2022,"Pac-12 Women's Swimmer and Diver of the Week – Jan. 26, 2022"
''

''. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022. February 2, 2022"Pac-12 Women's Swimmer and Diver of the Week – Feb. 2, 2022"
''

''. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022. * Golden Goggle Awards, Relay Performance of the Year: 2024

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Regan 2002 births Living people American female backstroke swimmers American female butterfly swimmers Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) World record holders in swimming Stanford Cardinal women's swimmers Sportspeople from Lakeville, Minnesota 21st-century American sportswomen