U.S. Nationals: Regan Smith Sets U.S. Open Record for 100 Backstroke Win; Katharine Berkoff Goes 58.01 for Second

Regan Smith -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

U.S. Nationals: Regan Smith Sets U.S. Open Record for 100 Backstroke Win; Katharine Berkoff Goes 58.01 for Second

With wins already collected in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke, Regan Smith got her third win of the meet while putting a scare into the world record in the 100 backstroke. The mark belonged to Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, the only rival to Smith in world backstroke, and with Smith putting together her best season since 2019, she had sights set on moving back into the top spot on the way to a showdown with McKeown at next month’s World Championships.

Smith was the first woman ever under 58 in the 100 back, achieving the feat at the 2019 World Championships. Smith was not qualified to swim the 100 back at that meet (the team had been selected one year before), but her 200 back world record and world title made her the best candidate to lead off the U.S. women’s 400 medley relay. The U.S. coaches inserted Smith, and she blasted a 57.57 to obliterate the previous world mark. That group went on to set a relay world record as well.

That record lasted for almost two years until McKeown swam the 57.45 at Australia’s Olympic Trials. McKeown went on to win Olympic gold in the event, with Smith ending up with a bronze medal behind McKeown and Masse. As Smith struggled in the 200 back in 2021 and 2022, her 100 remained competitive, as she dipped under 58 on numerous occasions and defeated Masse for the world title in 2022 (in a race that McKeown skipped). But given Smith’s resurgence this year, the possibility of lowering McKeown’s record began to materialize.

Smith’s 200 back Wednesday evening was the third-best time of her career — and the fastest since 2019. She ended up second in the 50 backstroke but just one hundredth behind Berkoff. And then in prelims, Smith swam a mark of 58.04 while appearing to go into cruise control down the stretch.

In the final at U.S. Nationals, Smith gave the mark a run but ended up just short. She went out ahead of record pace, flipping in 27.82 at the 50-meter mark and exploding off the turn. Off the wall, she accelerated her tempo and went for the record. With 15 meters to go, she still had a chance, but the tempo slowed slightly, and one lane over, Katharine Berkoff was making an unexpected push, but Smith held on to get to the wall first.

Smith touched in 57.71, the second-fastest time in the world this year behind McKeown’s 57.50 from the Australian Trials earlier this month. Smith clipped the U.S. Open record by five hundredths, surpassing the 57.76 she set at last year’s International Team Trials in Greensboro, N.C.

Yes, Smith hoped to take a shot at the world record, but she won’t get too concerned about coming up just short. Smith struggled at the end of both her 200-meter races this week, and she and coach Bob Bowman will discussed adjustments that will help her close well at the World Championships. Bowman hinted earlier this week that he may have under-tapered Smith for this meet after she excelled at the Sun Devil Open in early June, including an American record in the 200 fly.

“After my 200 back, I was really happy with that, of course, so I just wanted to go for it tonight. I couldn’t quite do it, but I’m really pleased with 57.7, best time of the season, and based on how it felt the last 20 meters, I’m especially pleased with it,” Smith said.

“I’ve been trying to talk to Bob about (finishing races), just figure stuff out because I’m still new under him. He’s still trying to figure me out and how I tick. I don’t have any gas left. It’s a learning experience. I’m glad that we’re learning this now instead of next summer. I know that he’ll know how to take care of it. It’s a learning experience for sure.”

Smith has now qualified for Worlds in three individual events, and she expects to add the 50 back to her program as the second-fastest American. She will also lead off the favored U.S. women’s 400 medley relay and could contribute to the mixed 400 medley relay. “I’m stoked to be able to do both the 100 and 200 backstroke at an international meet. I’ve never done that before,” Smith said. “It will be a tough lineup for sure, but I’m prepared, and I’m excited.”

Over the past several years, Smith has had to learn to handle the pressure of major competitions, including selection meets like this year’s Nationals and international competitions. Her mental health struggles multiplied during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Smith could not train and could only think about her status as the world-record holder. Being open about struggles and hearing her fellow competitors express those same struggles has been a huge relief for her.

“I feel like mental health in sport has always been kind of stigmatized. When I struggled with it a few years back starting right around when COVID started, right after my world record, I really struggled with it a lot, and I felt like if I did speak out about it, I was viewed as weak and I was washed up and not where I used to be. I’m just glad that people are vocal about it these days and it’s become a lot more normal,” Smith said.

“I think that’s what also makes me feel better about experiencing pressure because I know everyone in the pool with me is experiencing exactly the same pressure that I do. Everyone’s going through it. Everyone knows how hard it is to compete at this level, but at the end of the day, I try to remind myself that it’s just swimming. It’s not that serious. It’s a sport. It’s a privilege that I get to be here and do what I do. So when I try to look at it from that point of view, it kinds of takes the pressure off because it’s not life or death. It’s a sport, and I’m glad to be here.”

Smith believes that Bowman’s coaching plus the environment of a U.S. training camp, where she will reunited with some of her best friends from international trips over the previous years, will put her in the relaxed and distracted mindset in which she thrives.

In the Indianapolis final, Berkoff placed second, and she earned the right to race the 100 back at a long course international meet for the first time after winning 50 back silver at last year’s Worlds. Berkoff touched in 58.01, which made her the fifth-fastest performer in history behind McKeown, Smith, Canada’s Kylie Masse and American Kathleen Baker. Berkoff’s closing split of 29.77 was marginally quicker than Smith, and she will head to Fukuoka with a very real shot at winning an individual medal in this race.

“Honestly, I felt pretty weird before it. I felt all tingly, so I was in fight-or-flight mode, but I think it really helped my mentality going into it because I was not thinking too much about my race, just excited to touch some water,” Berkoff said. “The 100 back is the event I care about, and I’ve had my fair share of heartbreaks with it, so it’s been a very tough mental battle with that race, but to final make a championship team in the 100 back means so much to me.”

Claire Curzan finished third in 58.59, which was actually faster than she swam while winning bronze at last year’s World Championships. Olivia Smoliga, already on the team by virtue of her fourth-place finish in the 100 freestyle, placed fourth in 58.92.

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