Today on the GMM Podcast, we sat down with Regan Smith, and this conversation only confirmed what I’ve been thinking for a while: Regan needs her own podcast. She doesn’t just swim. She explains. She unpacks. She brings you inside her head in a way few athletes ever do.
Regan’s evolution has been painfully hard fought, and she’s grown into a pro that articulates the details that hit and transcend for anyone who understands our sport.
Regan is no longer the young upstart. She’s a veteran with world records, medals, and battles etched into her career. She has deep knowledge of the sport, not just in the pool but on the dry side too: the Olympic industry, the nuances of governance, and the relentless pressure that comes with being America’s best backstroker in an era with Aussie star Kaylee McKeown.
In this episode, she breaks down the fight for gold against Kaylee, what it feels like to come up just shy, to manage the emotions, and then turn that fire into a weapon for Team USA relays. And if you’ve watched Regan in a medley relay, you know the story: she always delivers. Time and again, she lines up against Kaylee on the leadoff and beats her, setting the tone for the Americans to close it out.
That’s what makes this conversation special. Regan isn’t hiding the grind or the heartbreak (or the behind the scenes events that can easily distract most elites). She’s giving us beat-by-beat insight into how she processes it, how she stays sharp, and how she transforms setbacks into fuel for the next swim.
I’ll say it again. Regan Smith needs her own podcast. She’s in-the-know and speaks from a place of battle-hardened strength always measured with compassion and empathy. I hope you enjoy this conversation.
- 0:00 Regan Smith Introduction
- 3:35 Michael Phelps/Ryan Lochte Meme
- 9:35 Greg Meehan & USAS Leadership
- 16:09 APA & Athletes Supporting Themselves
- 23:59 Why USA Swimming Isn’t as Dominant Today
- 28:50 Kaylee McKeown Rivalry
- 32:35 Bob Bowman Training
- 39:14 400 Medley Relay
- 43:02 Winning 5 Medals Through Stomach Illness
- 52:05 Balancing High Performance with Joy
- 57:56 SwimSwam Comments
- 1:03:46 Vacation after Singapore
- 1:07:28 Food in Austin
- 1:10:24 Racing in 2028
- 1:13:00 James Charles
- 1:15:04 Partnerships in Swim
EDITOR NOTE: I misspoke at one point in this podcast saying the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has $18 million in rights and sponsorship revenue. That’s incorrect. The IOC has $18 *billion* in rights and sponsorship revenue (and $1 billion in reserves), which is the most in modern Olympic history.
Follow Regan Smith on Instagram here.
Follow Gold Medal Mel on Instagram here.
Many thanks to Swimoutlet.com for their 13 year partnership and support of this swimming news and media.
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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
Nice interview
Kaylee got very lucky with the Covid delay. As Regan said, Kaylee’s 200 Back was way slower than hers in 2019. That one year delay helped Kaylee enormously and hurt Regan with the pressure she felt. Also, Regan shouldn’t have added 200 fly for her first Olympics after the challenges of the Covid delay. For me, this is the main reason (but not the only reason) Regan finds herself in this position. And it wasn’t mentioned because it would be interpreted as a sore loser comment, even though it is a valid point.
Already at the beginning of 2020, even before the pandemic hit, Kaylee ran 2:04. Perhaps Regan wouldn’t have repeated that 2:03 in 2020 if the pandemic hadn’t occurred. When she did it, she was a 17-year-old girl, which guaranteed she would have done it if the Olympics had won that year. Kayle could have perfectly evolved and done it in those hypothetical Olympics in 2020.
I’m tired of that excuse.
This is NOT an excuse. The Covid delay was real and had a real impact on athletes at different stages of their development. Kaylee did not get 2:03 until later. Regan had the momentum until she didn’t. You may not like to hear this, but these are not imaginary scenarios or excuses. Stop denying that Olympics is about timing perfectly for the quad. Kaylee also had a personal tragedy in that original timeline that would have likely set here back if the Olympics had not been delayed. This does not mean Kaylee isn’t the exceptional swimmer she is, but she clearly lucked out and found the momentum in time for 2021 – not 2020. That’s my point. And that has… Read more »
kaylee’s dad died in august 2020, after the original date of the closing ceremony. therefore her olympic prep was interrupted by the covid delay when she wouldn’t have had that setback otherwise, which is the exact claim you’re making about regan. since you’re playing the coulda shoulda woulda game with regan’s results, should we do the same with the scenario of kaylee swimming a tokyo olympics with her dad was still alive, particularly since you’re making a point of kaylee not going 2:03?
Look – I don’t want to get into her personal tragedy. But a very sick parent around the time of the actual Olympics would not have helped Kaylee’s performance. Again – the altered timeline benefited Kaylee.
really sounds like an excuse.
Not really – it explains.
And Kaylee only started to swim 2:03 backs in 2023 and after, not before. She finally went faster than Regan’s 2:03.35 in an international meet this past worlds (2025). I mean, come on. Great as she is, she achieved these times later than Regan so she benefited from time.
Yes, but nothing guarantees me that a young Regan would have repeated 2:03 in a hypothetical 2020 Olympics. We already know that her mind at that time was not the best, now it has matured. She was very young and it would not be the first time that someone in the games does not repeat their marks (like Popovici in 2024).
Her mindset shifted AFTER the long COVID delay and not making the US Team in the 200 Back despite being the World Record holder in the event at the time. USA Swimming should have intervened or done something to have prevented that, particularly given all the interruptions to training. In Australia, coaches have a say in who gets on the team. Leon did not have do trials in all his events for worlds 2025. Regan would not have faced the same Kaylee in 2020 that’s she has faced since. Again, not taking anything away from Kaylee as an exceptional swimmer, but she benefited from Regan’s poor training during COVID and Stanford. Regan would NOT have had those interruptions and unfortunate… Read more »
Kaylee benefited from the Covid delay – no doubt about it – despite all your denials. Kaylee was not on top before 2021 and even then she hadn’t swum a 2:03 200 back until 2023. Also, you miss the essential point that Regan has not been able fully to overcome the mental aspect because of the misfortune of not having been able to compete in 2020 — even after switching coaches and changing programs. That’s the sad part in all this, and Regan really needs to focus on all aspects of backstroke, get a backstroke specialist to do additional work with her, get USA Swimming fully behind her and get that monkey off her back once and for all. She… Read more »
you are living in an alternate reality. Kaylee would have won.
from 2020 to 2021 Kaylee improved her 200 back time by 0.2. She wins in 2020 every day of the week.
Improvements were good and needed – not enough to win, however.
Pain gain nailed it. Kaylee is the best backstroke swimmer in history. And, it is mostly if not all mental for Reagan. When she came on the scene and set her records she didn’t have a care in the world. She swam free and easy. Everything was icing on the cake at that point for her. If she swam poorly it could be blamed on inexperience and if she swam well she was great. She was win-win. COVID or not Reagans mental was waiting for her between her ears. Kaylee excelled in the swim and just as importantly the mental game. End of story.
This is the end of your narrative – not Regan’s or mine.
There were no interruptions in training for Reagan. She continued to swim at Riptide throughout.
Really? So all this woe is me and she wasn’t even out of the pool for an extended period of time (unlike Kaylee)?
What are you even talking about?
Which is why had COVID not intervened, she would have been more than ready for the 2020 Olympics. My point exactly
Sorry but this is delusional. If your entire career can be derailed by one meet being postponed then you were never a top athlete to begin with. Most of the top athletes of all time dealt with challenges much worse than “one meet was postponed”.
At absolute most you could say maybe Regan wins in Tokyo if it isn’t delayed. But even then, Kaylee was 57 and 2:04 in 2020. Regan has been sub 2:04 only twice since 2019.
MAYBE Regan wins one of the backstrokes in 2020, but the evidence suggests Kaylee would have won them anyway. Anything following on from that like Stanford is completely irrelevant.
Kaylee has gone through way worse challenges than Regan ever has and… Read more »
Oh please – look at who’s being delusional now. No evidence in 2020 was suggestive in any way that Kaylee would win either of the backstrokes. Her times started to drop in mid 2021.
Kaylee backstroke times
100m – 2019 59.10 -> 2020 57.93
200m – 2019 2:06.26 -> 2020 2:04.49
“Her times started to drop in mid 2021”.
I’m not sure if you’re lying on purpose or just misinformed, but you’re wrong. Kaylee was the fastest in the world in 2020 by a massive margin. Evidence suggests she would have won anyway. And then continued to win for 6 years, as she has.
Well in 2021 they were dropping enough to approach Regan’s best times – just to be clear.
Sorry but you’re embarrassing yourself.
The 57 that Kaylee swam in 2020 was 0.3 off Regan’s PB. For you to suggest that someone 0.3 off the WR couldn’t win at the Olympics is ludicrous. Regan swam 0.5 slower than her trials time in Paris. We can never know for sure what would have happened without the Covid delay, but the evidence supports Kaylee winning it more than Regan. And the evidence doesn’t disappear just because you don’t like it.
Regan has never once gone a best time in an international 100 or 200 backstroke final. Ever. So suggesting that Regan having a faster best time is somehow “proof” she would have won in 2020 is nonsense.
Sorry but you’re… Read more »
I don’t think Regan is worrying about me at all! Kaylee only went a 2:03 200 BACK faster than Regan’s best time at this year’s Worlds! And her 200 Back record was set in a local meet and pool. But Kaylee was smart to stick to the backstroke events in 2021. Regan should have done the same. Still – no evidence that Kaylee would beat her in 2020. Whereas Regan had all the records and the momentum …
Kaylee beat Regan’s 200 back PB in 23 and 24 and 25. In 23 it was a WR. So you’re talking nonsense.
Regan’s 100 back WR was set at a local meet and pool lol. I guess it doesn’t count.
It’s very odd you’re taking the “if it wasn’t set at worlds it doesn’t count” approach when Kaylee consistently shows up at worlds and Regan is consistently slower when it matters haha.
Regan had a great meet in 2019 and the didn’t set a PB in backstroke for 5 years. I don’t think you know what the word momentum means. Kaylee was getting faster in 2020 and Regan was getting slower. That’s momentum lol
Kaylee needed to get faster and Regan was hardly slow. That’s why the Covid delay benefited Kaylee – exactly my point. Regan’s 100 back record wasn’t at a local meet – It was US national trials for the Olympics. Whereas Kaylee set her 200 Back record in a no name local meet. Big difference. You don’t need to keep saying I am wrong to support Kaylee because I am not.
Yes – – Covid sidetracked Regan and it gave Kaylee the time she needed to catch up. This is why Regan hasn’t been able to get back on top. Mental battle after that unfortunate bit of bad bad luck to have Olympics delayed. Everyone knows the Olympics is all about peaking at the right time.
Regan is a great swimmer, even better than great. She would be ambarrassed by your biased take on this. Kaylee was the best backstroker in 2020 and every big meet since.
It’s not biased. It’s factual.
Fastest in the world in early 2020 means nothing. Kaylee’s times were nowhere near Regan’s best times in early 2020. This is just ridiculous.
Kaylee also achieved many of those times in local meets, nothing like worlds, which Regan did. What is a lie? That she didn’t get a 2:03 200 backstroke until 2023?
Regan has never once set a PB in an international backstroke final in the 100 or 200. Kaylee’s times in Singapore are faster than Regan’s PB in the 200 and faster than Regan has ever been outside of USA in the 100.
You are wrong lol
What am I wrong about? I said Kaylee only went faster than Regan’s PB in the 200 Back in an international meet at this year’s worlds and she had a light load at world’s compared to Regan. Regan set the Olympic Record in the 100 Back last year at that slow Paris pool. Think about that and don’t selectively choose your evidence.
You’re wrong about everything.
You say Kaylee’s times didn’t “start to drop” or “approach Regan’s PB” until mid 2021. Actually, she broke the WR in mid 2021 and was within 0.3 of Regan’s WR in 2020. So that is a lie and you are wrong.
You say there is no evidence to suggest Kaylee would have won in 2020 and said Regan had “all the momentum”. Kaylee dropped massive time in 2020 and Regan didn’t set another PB for 5 years. Saying “Regan had all the momentum” is factually false. So wrong again.
You essentially blame the Covid delay for every problem Regan has ever had and act like if it didn’t happen then Regan was guaranteed to repeat or… Read more »
The fact that you choose to read selectively and are so unhinged over a reasonable observation shows that the point I make has merit, as you are unable to dismantle it. This angers you, and you keep saying I am wrong about this and that when I am not. I never said Covid is the explanation for everything Regan has endured, but it was a major reason her career got derailed to an extent. USA swimming should have done more to support one of its stars and instead did nothing. Other countries throw a lot of resources at their talented young stars – Popovici is a good example — but not the US. Anyway – that is another issue altogether.… Read more »
I dismantled every single point you made, point by point. And your only response is “nah you didn’t” lol. There’s no point in communicating with someone who is just completely removed from reality.
You literally say “poor Regan her whole life was ruined by Covid delay” followed by “Kaylee would have been slow in 2020 because of her dead father so it’s a shame Regan didn’t get to take advantage of that”. Again, not only is that just a disgusting and vile thing to say, it’s also demonstrably false because Kaylee set massive PBs in 2020 immediately after her father died.
I actually would love to hear what you think the results would have been if Covid delay hadn’t happened.… Read more »
Looks like I hit a nerve … I wonder why, if it’s just a fantasy!
And no – you didn’t dismantle anything. You just repeat yourself. Saying 2+2=5 again and again doesn’t make it true. Kaylee was not the best in the world in 2019 or 2020. She started chasing Regan openly, but Regan still had the top times, confidence, and necessary training before Covid hit. By 2021 Kaylee caught up mostly, and Regan didn’t handle the pressure well. And sadly, Regan still doubts herself in head to head individual races vis a vis Kaylee. However, she is older now and mentally stronger and has beaten Kaylee in head to head relays. However, Regan needs to make Backstroke her priority again as Kaylee has in order to come out on top.
Surely you 2 clowns have no job/life/loved ones. This is the most ridiculous argument I have seen on here in ages. 2 great swimmers fighting it out now and you are arguing over who would of done what if things were different 5 years ago lol
Ok here we go with the lies again. Kaylee literally had the fastest backstroke times in the world in 2020 by a mile. If you can’t get through a single paragraph without lying then we’re done here.
You only “hit a nerve” because you basically said you wished Kaylee had suffered more consequences because of her father’s death. Only an evil person would say something like that.
You are delusional and just keep repeating “Regan would be the best except Covid ruined her career”. When I ask you to specifically state what outcomes you think would have changed you can’t.
You are worse at arguing than Regan is at winning. Bye
not to mention that kaylee’s father died after the original date of the 2020 closing ceremony, so the claim of kaylee’s 2020 performance suffering in the original timeline is a complete lie. the covid delay presented kaylee’s olympic prep with challenges that wouldn’t have been there otherwise, which is the exact claim made for regan. but in this context, the covid delay is only ever used to downplay kaylee’s achievements
Her father was very ill during the original Olympic timeline. Would that have really helped her?
Her achievement is being downplayed because it likely would not have happened in 2020 – for the many reasons already noted.
Insults aren’t going to change the fact that one person benefited from a delayed Olympics while another one didn’t. And don’t use quotes around your own statements as if I actually wrote them. You’re as manipulative as Kaylee is lucky.
You’re wrong, no you’re wrong about everything. No I’m right. Lol this thread took me back to teaching learn to swim to 5 year olds arguing over who was the fastest swimmer.
so Regan was going to handle the pressure in2020 but didnt in 2021. Based on what????
Based on her record – and uninterrupted training going into ten Olympics. She wasn’t at Stanford yet and could train the way she had all along🚟.
You’re arguing with an imbecile. Unfortunate for us they’re still posting their drivel, but they’re not going to change their opinion.
They’re accusing you of speculation (cause “you don’t know that would have happened” apparently) but they’re indulging in speculation and fantasy world building and selling it as fact.
We are allowed to ask what if – a delayed Olympics is out of the ordinary and should be debated. You’re the imbecile for not understanding that. And I get that you like Kaylee – as I have said repeatedly, she’s a great champion but it’s unlikely she would have won in 2020. I guess this offends your sense of her natural and preordained greatness.
Kalyee would have found a way to win. You know that is true.
I don’t because she hadn’t up to that point. Certainly, she has since.
Are you Reagan’s dad???
No – I am someone who loves swimming and follows it regularly. Regan has no clue who I am. There are others outside her family and close network who think she got a bum deal. But she can still turn it around if she makes some hard but necessary changes like dropping that 200 fly.
You’re voting down my not being her dad??? If I were, I would have persuaded her long ago not to continue with the 200 fly! How pathetic can you be?
Are you Kaylee’s sister?
I’m in a different swimming country, x man someone explain what Regan means by double trials? They had one US trials for Singapore, did they not?
I think she means double taper for both nationals and worlds
Thanks
I’m very late to this post, but I’d like to add two comments. First: That interview was a lot of fun, one of the best — next to only Coleman’s post Oly one with Hunter Armstrong in August 2024.
Second: I enjoyed Regan’s comments about SwimSwam’s commenters. I go back to the beginning of this site (when my name was “Years of Plain Suck” — taken from Mel’s description of what he had to endure to be a winner).
I’ve never understood why commenters make negative and derogatory comments about individual swimmers. Michael Andrew is a specific example. In my posts, I’ve always tried to treat them with respect, praise, or not to mention them at all.
On the other… Read more »
“Michael Andrew is a specific example
Eh. When you have complete disregard for public health, you’re a fair game.
Sorry man, I cannot stand it when people misuse jingoistic. It doesnt merely mean overtly patriotic.
Genuine question… should Nesty the Suriname guy be considered a foreign coach?
Seems to me like either Nesty is a foreign coach or Kharun is an American athlete.
The coach of the only men’s champion at Worlds wasn’t born in American either (Neil Versfeld). Not sure of his citizenship status.
If all the non-American elite swimmers were banned from the NCAA and from training in the US, what would the competitive swimming world look like today?
It would look pretty similar.
The international swimmers would just train somewhere else. There are a lot of other great coaches/programs outside of the USA.
American swimmers also benefit from training with really fast international swimmers, so it would likely affect both sides a little bit.
same
Will you do an interview with Kaylee?
Kaylee and Regan seem like such level headed graceful people, it’s funny to me that their races bring out the worst in commenters- not reflective at all of their relationship or the way they conduct themselves. I love them both I honestly wish they could tie for gold forever more 🤣
People wonder why Regan caught so much grief from commenters in the past, but some may forget (or weren’t around and paying attention) when Regan was a brash teenager who posted up the video at link below. About 45 seconds in, she says, “I wanna be the best there ever was in the sport…that’s why I started…and I’m not gonna ever stop until I’m confident I’ve reached that point.” I have to think the video ticked off a lot of Australians, and that Kaylee saw this video and it gave her additional fuel to chase Regan. This was pretty par for the course in terms of Regan Smith’s public approach to things at the time. Regan may “need” her own podcast,… Read more »
Oh la la
I already forgot about that
Forgot about an incredibly talented and hard working athlete want to do her best?
Why is saying you want to be the best ever considered “brash?” Athletes far less successful than Regan across all sports spout this phrase all of the time with little to back up their claims. At one point, she WAS the best ever, and now she’s not going to stop until she can get back to that point.
Exactly! Why would you work that hard and sacrifice so much to say what that you want to be mediocre?
I didn’t even know about that interview. I actually used to be a huge Regan defender until I found out about her MAGA and RG support and then I stopped caring.
Just to be clear though: breaking a world record does not make you “the best ever”. It makes you the fastest ever in a particular event at a point in time. There has never been an argument that Regan was the “best ever” in any sense
what does RG stand for?
Ri1ey Gaines
Riley Gaines. (Her latest endeavor is promoting some Ivermectin nonsense “drug.”)
Nonsense? It won the Nobel Prize for its impact on global heath. It’s also on The W.H.O.’s list of essential medicines.
Wait – is her MAGA support confirmed? Like there’s a lot of daylight between being “conservative” and being full MAGA. I will be disappointed if that’s true
Yes, it is. She appeared on Jake Paul’s MAGA podcast last year, during the Olympics (it must have been just after the swimming portion had concluded). She has also “liked” a post by Riley Gaines praising Tr*mp for protecting women’s sports. She’s smart enough not to bring up politics on swimming-specific podcasts, but there’s plenty of evidence out there about her conservative beliefs.
Also, during this Swimswam podcast she mentioned reading The Daily Mail, which is a conservative UK tabloid.
These are all good things. Keep it up, Reagan!
Did you watch the documentary?? It’s very well done and not at all ‘brash’. It shows that she’s driven and that she also struggles with confidence. How can anyone make this into something negative. You thought you had a gotcha moment? Really strange.
Regan was way ahead of her skis with that cringy video, but she had a club coach feeding notions of Jenny Thompson greatness into her head at the time. It does explain at least some of the online grief she caught. I suspect Regan would even admit now that the video was a mistake. As she states in the current GMM interview, she did not anticipate Kaylee’s rise, and the video was great “bulletin board” material for Kaylee (and perhaps others, for example in Fly). Not great also to say you will never quit until you are the greatest, and then you quit on your college team after one season because you finished third in one event at NCAAs.
She’s the world record holder. I think her club coach was onto something.😅
You’re being a total jerk. “Notions of Jenny Thompson greatness…”. You mean like being an 8x Olympic medalist who currently holds 4 individual WR’s and one relay WR? You mean like those notions?
And she “quit on her college team” according to you as well, huh? That’s been discussed here IN DEPTH and I don’t recall it being quite that simple. Because it wasn’t.
Seek help. You’re not a nice or reasonable person. In fact, you’re proving the point on the toxic AND IGNORANT nature of some commenters.
Having watched the GMM interview and that earlier video, I thought that Regan’s comment to Mel about herself and Kaylee that “We’re up here head and shoulders above everyone else” was just another example of the brashness cited (or maybe it is insecurity?) But in any event, just more bulletin board material for her backstroke competitors.Someone must be giving her bad “talking points” advice, and it results in really bad p.r. It’s like she gets high on her own supply (her expectations and view of herself), and then beats herself up mentally when she fails to perform to that artificial standard.
See link below, the view and takeaway from Australia. I just don’t see how Regan’s interview and statements help her unless the position is taken that any publicity is good publicity?Regan always seems to overtalk (which she often admits to GMM in the interview),don’t see how taking the mentality stuff public helps her or Team USA gain competitive confidence or advantage.Also, both she and Kaylee need to be careful–it’s three years to 2028 and objects in the rearview mirror may be closer than they appear (Berkoff, Curzan, Shackley, McIntosh, Masse, Bacon, Derivaux, Peng, Liu, Howley, Crush, and who knows who else).
Swimming News 2025: Regan Smith opens up on how rivalry with Kaylee McKeown in backstroke mentally broke her
Not great but teenagers are famously bad at making decisions and many of them think they’re invisible. I had some pretty dumb views of myself and others as a teen too, but like Regan and everyone else, I’ve been humbled by life and my worldview and self-concept has adjusted accordingly
dawg, who asked? This is about Regan, not about how you got humbled for being a brat
This is sad. A confident woman saying she wants to be the best and won’t stop until she gets there? When she quite literally was the best of all time (oh wait, she still is, 57.13 ring a bell)? There is nothing brash about that. What do you want her to say? The dainty “oh I’m just happy to be here and compete” that everyone expects from women’s swimmers? She said that USAS had a vendetta against her coach and it seems like commenters like you and a few others in here also have a vendetta against her for some reason.
that’s just a hype video dude…….
I think a lot of people got very jealous of Regan for doing what she did as a 17 yr old. What she said was misinterpreted and people just sometimes hate to see what looks like easy success when it was anything but. I remember watching her races in 2019. Missy’s time had been untouchable. And then Regan swims this exceptional race – seemingly out of nowhere. No doubt, that, more than anything else, pissed off a lot of competitive folks.
We also need to keep in mind that people evolve, and Regan appears to be someone who is working on getting better all around, not just in the pool. Kudos to her for working on herself and growing.
They do appear to have a good relationship. And that is very thoughtful and kind of Kaylee to let Reagan swim faster than her in the medley relays. I think Kaylee draws the line at the relays however and will never let Reagan win an individual.