Regan Smith breaks U.S. Open meet record, finishes Women’s 100 Backstroke in 57.95
Young American athlete Regan Smith had a blast at the US Open on Friday. Smith fiercely competed on 100 backstrokes and registered her win with a record time of 57.95.
She was out in 28.38 and returned with 29.57, clearly having a win over Katherine Berkoff, who touched the wall in 59.87. With her win, Regan Smith broke her best of 58.22, which she managed en route to the World Championships in Budapest. Smith has also dominated the pool in 100-meter butterflies and 100 backstroke events.
She finished the backstroke event in 57.65, followed by Beata Nelson, who touched the wall in 58.93 and finished second in the championship.
Smith has been in action since the start of the championship on Thursday, where the Olympic silver medalist claimed a first-place finish in the 200-individual medley. With a time of 2:10.40, Regan set a personal record.
Smith has had a fabulous performance so far, and now, for the last day, she will compete in 200 butterflies and 200 backstrokes to continue her winning streak. The competition holds much more importance in Regan's career, considering that she can claim the trophy as Smith has the edge over the 200 meters event.
Early life and career of Regan Smith
Regan Smith is the rising star of the swimming world. Born on February 9, 2002, Smith played for Stanford University in her collegiate career in 2021.
She is a young-age superstar who had previously played for Stanford before switching to train with the Sun Devils. She has multiple achievements at such a young age.
Regan Smith started playing at twelve and achieved multiple new age group records in her career. After winning medals at the high school state, she joined Apple Valley's Riptide Swim Club. During the early days of her career, Regan was trained by coach Mike Parratto.
Regan Smith competed at the Meets with Olympians when she was fourteen and, in 2016, became a member of the US National Junior team.
When she was fifteen, the Minnesota-born star competed in her first major international meet at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships.
Smith played at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won two silvers and one bronze medal. She has claimed four gold medals in the World Championship, including two medals in 4x100 m medley, one in 200 m backstrokes, and a medal in 100 m backstrokes.
Katie Ledecky picked up her third victory at the US Open
America's most dominating athlete, Katie Ledecky, claimed her third gold medal at the 2022 US Open Championship, defeating Erin Gemmell in the 200 freestyle.
Ledecky previously won the 400 and 800 freestyle on Thursday. Although Katie was not pleased with her performance at the beginning, she touched the wall at 1:56.74 to edge over Erin, who finished at 1:57.16.
Katie defeated Summer McIntosh in the 400 freestyle and then went on to win in the 200 m freestyle.
The American athlete is now looking forward to the 2024 Paris Olympics. It is important to note that Katie Ledecky has a fabulous record at the Olympics and is regarded as one of the most successful athletes.