Regan Smith Will Not Compete at Knoxville Pro Series
A swimmer who won five medals at last year’s World Championships will not kick off her Olympic year racing just yet. Regan Smith is entered in the 100 and 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 and 200 butterfly and 200 IM at next week’s TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, Tenn., but she will not actually race against many top rivals.
Smith was ill in December and missed training time, but she has returned to her usual practice load in recent weeks. Smith plans to race for the first time in 2024 at the second Pro Series meet, scheduled for early March in Westmont, Ill.
2023 was a resurgent year for Smith, who swam her fastest times in the backstroke events in four years while crushing American records in the 200 butterfly in both long course and short course. She won silver medals in all three backstroke events at the World Championships, with only Kaylee McKeown standing in Smith’s way, and Smith also won 200 fly bronze and led off the U.S. women’s gold-medal-winning 400 medley relay. She also concluded the year with strong swims at the U.S. Open in December.
Smith will miss the chance to race two-time world champion Summer McIntosh in the 200 fly at the Knoxville meet, while the backstroke events will still feature the likes of Rhyan White, Claire Curzan and, in the 100, Worlds bronze medalist Katharine Berkoff. The events are among the deepest in the United States, but Smith still figures to head to Olympic Trials this summer as a strong favorite in both backstroke distances.