Regan Smith (USA) could hardly be heading to Budapest for the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in better form, having starred in the recent Swimming World Cup 2024 and broken the Women’s 200m Backstroke world record, which had stood for nearly four years.
At the final stop of the Swimming World Cup in Singapore on 2 November Smith set a short course world record in the 200m Backstroke, which was all the more impressive given that it had stood since it was broken by Kaylee McKeown (AUS) in November 2020. McKeown’s 1:58.94 effort at the Australian Championships, which were held virtually across different cities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had broken a world record that had been held by Katinka Hosszú (HUN) for nearly six years.
🇺🇸 Regan Smith was full gas mode in Singapore 🔥 with 2️⃣World Records in 2 days!
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) November 3, 2024
She’s now the fastest in the world in 100 and 200 back SC#swimming pic.twitter.com/d0oVaA8Bh4
However, the standard of the backstroke rivalry between McKeown and Smith is becoming the stuff of legend. In Singapore, Smith again raised the bar with a stunning 1:58.83 swim. It was an incredible display which gave her a chance of capturing the overall Swimming World Cup crown, but she ultimately fell just 0.1 point short of compatriot Kate Douglass (USA) in a thrilling end to the three-stop competition.
In a further indication of how the battle for supremacy between Smith and McKeown is heating up ahead of Budapest, 22-year-old Smith also captured the 100m Backstroke short course world record on the Swimming World Cup. In fact, Smith was able to do so twice, swimming 54.41 at the second stop in Incheon and 54.27 in Singapore.
Smith’s success also extends to long-course events in recent years, most notably at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 where she won an astonishing five medals. That included golds in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay and the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay, and silvers in the 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke and 200m Butterfly.
She is also a five-time gold medallist in the 50m pool at the World Aquatics Championships, spanning across Gwangju 2019, Budapest 2022 and Fukuoka 2023.
Budapest is set to be Smith’s debut at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), but fans are in for a treat in the Hungarian capital based on her world record-breaking recent form.