When we gave Regan Smith our 10 & under NAG Swimmer of the Year Swammy Award in 2012, she was relatively unknown nationally. Early in 2013, however, Smith is making an incredible push to repeat with that honor after breaking 4 National Age Group Records over the weekend at the University of St. Thomas.
Smith, who trains at the South Metro Storm Swim Club is co-head coached by twin brothers Phil and Chuck Smith (no relationship to Regan), as well as Jim Andersen. The staff has brought her along slowly, still training her with swimmers of a similar age, meaning that she still has a lot of room for growth. She’s by no means small for a 10-year old, but she’s not huge either like we see from a lot of kids who dominate at this age group. One opposing coach who was on deck said that “her walls are good, but like a good kid of that age. She doesn’t have a lot of jump strength yet like you would think from someone with her times, which makes her so much more impressive. She’s obviously been really well-coached and has a lot of talent.”
The biggest headline-grabbing swim is the 100 backstroke, where her 59.89 makes her the first 10 & under girl to break a minute in the 100 back (after we saw Destin Lasco become the first boy to do it just last year). That takes down the oldest 10 & under NAG Record on the books, a 1:01.71 by Beth Botsford from 1992. We’ve seen this a lot in the last year, swimmers taking really old records and absolutely crushing them. That’s really an impressive swim, splitting 29.01 – 30.88.
She also broke the 50 backstroke record, held by two-time defending NCAA backstroke champion Cindy Tran, with a 27.79 (.02 under the old record). Showing great versatility outside of the backstrokes, she swam a 26.91 in the 50 fly, and a 59.80 in the 100 fly, to take down the 27.27 and 59.82, respectively, set by Ella Eastin in 2007. Eastin is one of the most impressive 10 & under swimmers of the new millenium: even with these two broken, she still holds 6 all-time marks in the age group.
Smith ages up to the 11-12 age group in early February, and will immediately become a contender in that group too. She would rank in the top 12 in the 100 back this season.
In 8 individual swims on the weekend, Smith broke 4 National Age Group Records and 8 Minnesota Age Group Records. This is in a state that in the last 10-or-so-years has seen a lot of really impressive age group swimmers, like Rachel Bootsma, to have taken down several NAG Records.
Smith’s full list of results from the weekend:
50 back – 27.79 NAG Record
100 back – 59.89 NAG Record
50 fly – 26.91 NAG Record
100 fly – 59.80 NAG Record
50 free – 25.79 Minnesota Record
100 free – 56.01 Minnesota Record
200 IM – 2:17.27 Minnesota Record
200 free – 2:04.54 Minnesota Record
congrats Regan! Love you!!! your a great team mate!
Your so fast! I’m Vivian wang from Sunnyvale, California and I tried to get a NAG record in the 50 back, but I missed it by 0.03! I’ll always look up to you! Your my role model!
The time conversion tool has disappeared for me on the website!
And other remark, it would be good if we could have the updated swimming records on swimswam like the world, American, European, college, high school and NAG records.
bobo – all are in plan. We found quite a few glitches in the converter code we were given, so now we’re having to redo it ourselves. Should be back shortly!
Missy has many NAG records very young and I presume she was already very tall for her age. Today she’s the best swimmer in the world on the women’s side so it’s possible to be good yound and to be good older. It’s obviously more true for the girls.
Congrats to Regan Smith for her crazy weekend. Her 100 back time is incredible. You have no problems in USA for the future of swimming. There are so many talented young swimmers who come. I repeat it’s the Michael Phelps generation.
I can also cite Lia Neal, Chloe Sutton, Dana Vollmer, Amanda Weir or Elizabeth Beisel who were very fast when they were 10, 11, or 12 and we see their careers now. It’s definitely possible to swim fast young and to swim fast older. There are many examples on the women’s side.
First off, congratulations Regan! We’ve watched and been amazed at her drive, focus and abilities. The most gratifying note was hit on earlier – you would never know she’s a larger than life swimmer when you talk to her. A tip of a hat to her coaches (Phil, Chuck and Jim) on keeping her grounded, having fun and not placing any competitive pressures on her. We’re thrilled to be able to “be along for the ride” and will be cheering for Regan as she continues down her unlimited path of success. Go Storm!
She swam with my son at same age group that meet. She looked same taller as my son ( 5’2″), so her new records are incredible. I only can say, her swimming skill and technique are unique.
Congrats Regan! What amazes me most about Regan is her character. She is so warm and welcoming to everyone who approaches her. She truly is blessed with not only an incredible work ethic with raw talent, but also possesses a great amount of humility. Well Done Regan!
Regan is a great kid with a great family. So excited for her!!
Congrats Regan Smith and YES to Minnesota Swimming 🙂