18-year-old Regan Smith was supposed to be at Stanford University right about now gearing up for her freshman season with the Cardinal after coming off a summer where she was favored to make the Olympic Team for the United States of America. But instead Smith is at her home in Minnesota, taking online classes from Normandale Community College at her mother’s dining room table to keep her brain stimulated as she has deferred her enrollment to Stanford ahead of a new Olympic year.
“I’m just trying to go with the flow,” Regan Smith said to the Star Tribune in Minnesota. “It would be easy to be angry, but so many people are in the same boat as me.
“It’s unfortunate, and things are definitely weird. But you have to make the best of it.”
Regan Smith announcing her commitment in 2019. Photo Courtesy: @regansmith4
Smith made the decision to defer her enrollment to Stanford earlier this summer as she will be training one more year for Mike Parratto at the Riptide Swim Team. Parratto famously coached four-time Olympian Jenny Thompson during her club career in New Hampshire as Smith’s accomplishments in the pool (two world records plus a U.S. national title) earned him USA Swimming’s coach of the year award at the Golden Goggles, and the ASCA coach of the year.
“She is so dedicated to what she does,” Parratto said. “That hasn’t changed. There have been some speed bumps, but she still has that desire to be as good as she can be.”
The decision to defer was a difficult one, but one that Smith believes is the right move for her as she trains for what would be her first Olympic Games. Stanford is a member of the Pac-12 Conference, which has canceled all sports until at least January 1.
“It seemed like a very stressful situation to voluntarily put myself in,” Regan Smith said. “There were fewer variables if I stayed home, and I felt like it would ultimately be better for my training and my well-being.
“It was hard to tell my teammates, especially my freshman class. We had planned to [start school] together for so long. And I was really nervous to tell Greg, too, but they were all very understanding.”
But Smith will not be the only Stanford freshman sitting out the season, as Lillie Nordmann and Andrei Minakov will also be staying at home for what would have been their freshman seasons.
In the early days of 2020, Smith had the fastest times in the world this year in the 100 back (58.18) and was second in the 200 back (2:05.94) as she was a big favorite to not only make the Olympic team, but potentially take double gold in the backstroke events.
For now, Smith has been training at a community pool in Northfield, Minnesota, where the only time slot available would be at 5:30 a.m.
“At the end of August, when it was 55 degrees and pitch black, it wasn’t ideal,” Smith told the Star Tribune. “But in June, when the sun was up, it was awesome. And it was great to get long-course training, no matter where it was.”
New abnormal.
Kaylee McKeown of Australia actually had the fastest time in the world in the 200 Back (2:05.83) in the early days of 2020, not R. Smith.
Good catch!