U.S. Nationals Day Two Predictions: Regan Smith Seeking Long-Awaited International Return in 200 Backstroke
When Regan Smith first made on impact on international swimming as a 15-year-old, her primary event was the 200 backstroke. She qualified for her first World Championships in 2017 in the event and made the final. One year later, she tied with Kathleen Baker for the win in the event at U.S. Nationals and earned her first senior-level international medal, a bronze at the Pan Pacific Championships, in the 200 back. And one year further down the line, Smith achieved her first world title and world record, dominating the field at the Gwangju World Championships while becoming the first woman ever under 2:04.
Since then, however, Smith has been absent from international racing in the event. She qualified for the Olympics in the 100 back and 200 butterfly, winning medals in both races in Tokyo, but she placed third in the 200 back in one of the biggest upsets of the 2021 Olympic Trials. Rhyan White and Phoebe Bacon claimed the Olympic spots for the U.S. that year, and one year later, that duo again represented the American team internationally while Smith ended up third at the International Team Trials.
So for two consecutive major meets, Smith was in the building, and her name sat next to the world record of 2:03.35, but she was in the stands cheering for Bacon and White, who both reached the medal stand at last year’s Worlds.
Now, the landscape of the event has changed significantly. First off, Smith is no longer the world-record holder, with Kaylee McKeown having claimed the crown with a 2:03.14 performance in March. Secondly, Smith is primed to reclaim the mantle of top American in the event. A move to train with coach Bob Bowman at Arizona State University has helped Smith swim the fastest in-season times of her career, including a 2:04.76 200 back at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmont, Ill., in April that was Smith’s fastest time in four years — since the 2019 World Championships.
The women’s backstroke events are typically among the most competitive of American selection meets, and Smith will have elite company in the 200 back between Bacon, White, Isabelle Stadden and Claire Curzan. But recent developments, including an American record in the 200 fly that made her the fourth-fastest swimmer ever in the event, suggest a special performance from Smith is in the works, one that would re-establish her command over the 200 back in the U.S. and set up a highly-anticipated showdown with McKeown at the upcoming World Championships in Fukuoka.
In other day two events, Katie Ledecky is the heavy favorite in the 200 freestyle, but a deep field will contend for one individual spot plus five relay berths for Worlds. Teenagers Erin Gemmell, Claire Weinstein, Bella Sims and Katie Grimes will be huge factors in the event along with 200 free veterans Leah Smith and Paige Madden. The men’s 200 free should also be a scramble for relay spots as the American men try to assemble a squad that can challenge Great Britain at Worlds while Jake Foster and Matt Fallon attempt to make their first senior-level team while facing veteran Nic Fink in the 200 breaststroke.
Day Two Predictions:
Women’s 200 Freestyle
- Katie Ledecky
- Erin Gemmell
- Bella Sims
- Paige Madden
- Leah Smith
- Katie Grimes
Men’s 200 Freestyle
- Luke Hobson
- Kieran Smith
- Drew Kibler
- Carson Foster
- Gabriel Jett
- Trenton Julian
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
- Kate Douglass
- Lilly King
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
- Matt Fallon
- Jake Foster
Women’s 200 Backstroke
- Regan Smith
- Phoebe Bacon
Men’s 200 Backstroke
- Ryan Murphy
- Shaine Casas
Women’s 50 Butterfly
- Torri Huske
Men’s 50 Butterfly
- Caeleb Dressel
