2025 U.S. World Trials Previews: Regan Smith Pushing to Defend Her Title in Women’s 100 Back

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• World Championship Selection Criteria

WOMEN’S 100 BACK: BY THE NUMBERS

• World Record: 57.13 – Regan Smith, USA (2024)
• American Record: 57.13 – Regan Smith (2024)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Winner: Regan Smith – 57.13
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 1:00.46

The World Record Holder

Regan Smith has had a tight grip on the 100 back for the last couple seasons now, coming out on top at multiple U.S. selection meets and sitting comfortably atop the national rankings since the 2022-2023 season.

Smith won the event at the 2023 National Championships (57.71) and the 2024 Olympic Trials (57.13), where she chased down the world record to take it back from Australia’s Kaylee McKeown. While Smith won silver at the Olympic Games last summer in 57.66, she still has a hold on that world record with her 57.13 from Trials.

Just a few weeks ago, Smith raced at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, where she won the 100 back in 57.46. That swim marked a season-best time and her fastest performance since setting the world record, showing her to be in top form heading into Nationals.

No American competitor has come close to dethroning Smith either this season or last season, making her a clear favorite to take home the title in Indianapolis on her path to the World Championships in Singapore this summer.

The Olympic Medalist

Smith’s closest American competitor has to be fellow Olympian Katharine Berkoff, who was the runner-up at the 2024 Olympic Trials (57.91) and won bronze in Paris (57.98).

Katharine Berkoff (photo: Jack Spitser)

With a lifetime best time of 57.83 from the semi-finals at Trials, Berkoff is the fourth-fastest woman in history in the event and is one of only five women to ever go sub-58. At the national level, Berkoff is the second-fastest American woman in history in the 100 back behind Smith.

Berkoff also posted a season-best time at the TYR Pro Swim Series, but was well over a second behind Smith as she took 2nd in 58.79. However, she has been known to make significant improvements at the U.S. selection meets, as her last two personal best times were posted at the 2023 Nationals and 2024 Olympic Trials, so Berkoff could easily turn in a performance to rival Smith’s in June.

The World Champion

Another big name to keep an eye on is Claire Curzan, who won both the 100 and 200 back at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships last February. Curzan blasted to victory in the 100 back in a personal best time of 58.29, though it should be noted that both Smith and Berkoff were absent from the competition.

Curzan is the fourth-fastest American woman of all-time in the 100 back, just behind Kathleen Baker, and has consistently been one of the top-ranked competitors in the country for the past several seasons.

Coming off of a hugely successful campaign at the 2025 NCAA Division I Championships, Curzan headed to the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale. A bit of a precursor to the upcoming National Championships, Curzan faced off against Smith and Berkoff in the final of the 100 back, but fell short of overtaking them as she finished 4th in 59.46.

Curzan is no doubt one of the top swimmers in the country in the 100 back, but she has not been under 59 since the 2024 World Championships; the fastest she has been since then is 59.08 in the semi-finals of the event at Olympic Trials before placing 8th overall in the final. What’s more, while her top times may put her in the thick of the competition, Curzan has never beaten Smith or Berkoff in a race before.

Rising Challengers

Leading the pack of teenagers climbing the national ranking of top times this season, Leah Shackley is poised to make a big splash at Nationals in June after making huge strides over the past year.

The 18-year-old was one of the young guns to break onto the scene in the 100 back at the 2024 Olympic Trials, setting a personal best time of 59.25 in the semi-finals before finishing 7th in finals (59.40). Shackley has lowered her lifetime best two more times since then, posting a time of 59.05 as a relay leadoff at Junior Pan Pacs in August, where she also won the individual event, and throwing down a winning time of 58.53 at the Charlotte Open in May.

Although she did not race in Fort Lauderdale, her best time would have landed her in the runner-up spot ahead of Berkoff. That ranks Shackley 2nd in the country so far this season, a jump up from being ranked 8th last season, and makes her a significant threat for one of the top spots heading into Nationals.

Rising stars Rylee Erisman and Charlotte Crush will be swimmers to watch as they look to continue making a name for themselves after making it to the semi-finals at the 2024 Olympic Trials.

Rylee Erisman (photo: Jack Spitser)

Crush, the #1 recruit in the class of 2026 and runner-up behind Shackley at Junior Pan Pacs, just threw down a lifetime best performance of 59.81 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale and placed 5th overall behind Curzan. Her swim shaved .05 off of her previous best (59.86), which she posted at Trials last summer. Crush has one of the top times in the country this season but could be hard-pressed to repeat her lifetime best with just a few weeks in between.

Erisman kicked off her long course season with a bang back in March, throwing down a lifetime best time of 59.67 to mark her first time under 1:00 and the 6th-fastest performance this season. The 15-year-old most recently posted a time of 1:01.35 in Fort Lauderdale, but her personal best is still the 6th-fastest time in the country this season.

Also pushing for a breakthrough could be 15-year-old Ellie Clarke. A member of Carmel Swim Club, Clarke competed at the 2024 Olympic Trials in the 200 back and 400 IM, not making it out of prelims in either event, but has made huge strides in the 100 back over the past year. A year ago her best time in the event was 1:01.91 and ranked 59th in the nation. Now, Clarke has a lifetime best time of 1:00.43 and holds the 10th-fastest time so far this season thanks to her runner-up performance at Speedo Sectionals in March.

Only .2 behind Clarke at Sectionals was Julie Mishler, who placed 3rd in 1:00.64. Her swim marked a tremendous lifetime best just a few weeks after posting the previous standard at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmont (1:01.15).

Familiar Faces

A veteran on the racing scene, Rhyan White contested the 100 back at the Tokyo Olympics, placing 4th in 58.43 to tie her lifetime best performance from May 2021. A year later she won the event at the 2022 National Championships in 58.91, and although her lifetime best makes her the 7th-fastest American woman of all-time in the event; White but has not broken 59 since 2022; she went on to finish 7th at the 2023 Nationals (59.50).

White’s fastest performance since 2022 was at Olympic Trials last summer; she placed 5th in a season-best 59.07. Since then she has been posting times mostly in the high 59 range, turning in a 59.68 at the Pro Swim Series in Sacramento in April and a 59.99 in Fort Lauderdale in May, where she finished 6th. White is certainly a contender to make the finals, as her performance in Sacramento ranks 7th in the country so far this season, but she will face tough competition from the likes of Shackley and Crush.

Another notable veteran in the mix, Kennedy Noble has been a finalist at multiple U.S. selection meets over the last few seasons, placing 6th at the 2023 Nationals (59.45) and 3rd at the 2024 Olympic Trials (58.81). While all three of her swims at Trials were in the 58 range, that is the only occasion that she has been sub-59 in this event. Noble just posted a time of 59.63 at the Charlotte Open, taking 2nd behind NC State teammate Shackley by over a second and marking the #5 performance so far this season.

The 100 back is not necessarily a regular event for Bella Sims, but she is still one of the top competitors in the event and could opt to race it at Nationals. Sims just posted a new best time of 1:00.30 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, placing 10th and taking over half a second off of her previous best from the 2024 Olympic Trials (1:00.88). Fort Lauderdale marked her first time racing this event since Trials, and she looked to be in top form as she gears up for Nationals. Sims could see a conflict in her racing schedule, as the 100 back is the same day as the 400 free, which would be a tough double if she wants to focus on freestyle.

Phoebe Bacon (photo: Jack Spitser)

Maggie Wanezek is another familiar face from Olympic Trials, where she finished 11th in the 100 back in a personal best time of 59.85. She had been under 1:00 two other times before: first in 2022 (59.96) and again in 2024 (59.90). Wanezek kicked off the 2025 long course season at the ST TXLA Longhorn Aquatics meet in May, where she took the runner-up spot behind Smith in 1:00.47.

Competing at the same meet was Phoebe Bacon, who placed 3rd in 1:00.59. Bacon has been a regular on the backstroke scene for several years but has not posted a best time since back in 2019 (58.63). While that time makes her the 10th-fastest American performer in history, the fastest she has been since then was 59.32 at the 2021 Olympic Trials. A finalist at both the 2023 National Championships (1:00.03) and 2024 Olympic Trials (59.37), Bacon should be a top contender for the finals at Nationals but could find herself right on the cusp of making top 8.

Other Names to Consider

• Erika Pelaez just came off a strong debut college season with NC State, hitting SCY best times in both backstroke events. Her LCM best time of 59.94 was posted at the 2023 World Junior Championships, and she turned in two sub-1:00 races last summer at Olympic Trials (59.95) and Junior Pan Pacs (59.97), showing strong consistency in her times. Pelaez is coming off of a season-best 1:00.75 at the TAC Titans Spring Fling earlier this month.
• Teagan O’Dell was another semi-finalist at Olympic Trials, placing 10th overall (59.72). Her lifetime best has also stood since the 2023 World Junior Championships, where she threw down a time of 59.51 as the leadoff on the 4×100 medley relay. Since then, O’Dell’s only sub-1:00 performance was at Trials; she most recently turned in a time of 1:01.22 at the Pleasanton Seahawks Senior Open in April.
• Catie Choate placed 8th at the TYR Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale with a time of 1:01.26, beating out possible Nationals competitors like Sims and Pelaez. Choate’s performance in prelims (1:00.95) was her first time breaking 1:01 since posting her lifetime best 1:00.37 last summer, but if she can get back down closer to her best time, she could make a push for the A-final.

SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse: Emma Kern – Kern posted a lifetime best of 1:00.41 to win the 100 back at Speedo Sectionals – Austin last summer, which came just weeks after setting her previous personal best (1:00.98) in the semi-finals at Olympic Trials. Kern posted a season-best 1:01.44 at the first LCM meet of the season in April, which puts her at 21st on the ranking of top times this season, although her times since then have been a bit slower. Kern’s best time would put her in a position to fight for a spot in the A-final if she can get back to that standard.