Regan Smith (born February 9, 2002) is an American competitive swimmer. As of 2022, Smith trains under Bob Bowman with the Arizona State University professional training group. She is the world junior record holder in the women's long course 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter backstroke and a former world record holder in the long course 100-meter backstroke and the 200-meter backstroke. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in three events representing the United States, winning a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke, a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly, and a silver medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay. At the World Aquatics Championships, she won individual gold medals in the 200-meter backstroke in 2019 and the 100-meter backstroke in 2022 and a relay gold medal swimming the backstroke leg of the 4x100 medley relay in 2023.
Background
Smith started competing collegiately for Stanford University in the fall of 2021. Following the end of the 2021–2022 collegiate season, she left Stanford University and started training with the Sun Devils, based at Arizona State University. When asked about the switch from collegiate athlete to professional athlete, Smith said "I am postponing my college degree to maximize my athletic competitive window." Training with the Sun Devils is under the leadership of Bob Bowman, the previous coach of Michael Phelps. Smith mentioned her future goals saying, "Bob's leadership and training will have me exactly where I want to be for Paris 2024."
Career
Early career
When Smith was twelve, she achieved multiple new age-group records and won medals at high school state meets. Following these successes, she joined Apple Valley’s Riptide Swim Club and began to receive coaching from Mike Parratto, who is known for coaching twelve-time Olympic medalist Jenny Thompson.
While she was fourteen, Smith competed at meets with Olympians such as Missy Franklin (at the time the world record holder for the 200-meter backstroke) and Katie Ledecky (the world record holder for the 400-meter freestyle, 800-meter freestyle, and 1500-meter freestyle). In 2016 she became a member of the U.S. National Junior Team and set national age group records in the 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard butterfly, and 100-meter backstroke. She was named the 2016 Age Group Swimmer of the Year for 13–14 year-olds.
2017–2018
In July 2017, at age fifteen, Smith competed in her first major international meet at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. She qualified for the women's 200-meter backstroke event final and finished 8th. In August, Smith won gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke and the 200-meter backstroke at the 2017 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships. In the 100-meter finals she broke Missy Franklin's 15–16 national age group record, as well as the world junior record previously set by Taylor Ruck in the semifinals. She was awarded the 2017 National Age Group Swimmer of the Year for 15–16 year-olds.
The following year, Smith won her first senior international medal by taking bronze in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo. At the 2018 USA Swimming Championships, Smith set a new world junior record when she and Kathleen Baker (at the time the world record holder for the 100-meter backstroke) tied for first in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:06.43. Smith also finished third in both the 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter butterfly. She wrapped up 2018 by earning the Age Group Swimmer of the Year title for the third time in her career and the second time consecutively in the age group (15–16 year-olds).
2019 World Championships
At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Smith competed in one individual event, the 200-meter backstroke. In the heats and semifinals, she asserted herself as the favorite, recording a time of 2:06.01 in the heats and consequently breaking her own world junior record. In the semifinals, she surged away from the rest of the field and opened up a lead of two body lengths by the last 25 meters. She touched the wall with a time of 2:03.35, shattering Missy Franklin's world record of 2:04.06 that had stood since 2012. The next day in the final, she won her first World Championship title, claiming gold by a margin of more than two and a half seconds. She was well under her world record pace with a 100-meter split of 59.45 (a time that would have placed 6th in the 100-meter backstroke final held earlier). Smith's pace fell off at the end, but she still managed to finish with the second fastest women's 200-meter backstroke ever with a time of 2:03.69.