16-year old Regan Smith has re-broken her own National Age Group Record in the 100 yard backstroke. Swimming at the US Winter Junior Championships – West meet in Austin, Texas, she led off Riptide’s 400 medley relay in 50.58. That broke her own 15-16 national record of 50.84 set at the Akron Sectionals in March.
Smith has now broken the record 4 times in about a year, starting at last year’s US College Challenge. In Akron earlier this year, her record-breaking came largely based on front-end speed without sacrifice any closing kick; her latest record leaned more toward a drop on the back-half, going sub-26 for the first time on the closing 50.
Comparative Splits:
| 2017 COLLEGE CHALLENGE | AKRON PRELIMS | AKRON FINALS | Winter Juniors | |
| 1st 50 | 25.07 | 25.07 | 24.72 | 24.63 |
| 2nd 50 | 26.23 | 26.21 | 26.12 | 25.95 |
| Final time | 51.30 | 51.28 | 50.84 | 50.58 |
The Riptide relay finished 21st in the event in 3:45.68. Smith’s time would rank 2nd in the NCAA so far this season, behind only Beata Nelson’s American Record, and Smith now ranks 16th all-time in the event among swimmers of any age.
Smith isn’t entered into any individual backstroke races, her best event, at this week’s meet, but the relay leadoff still allowed her to break a record.
So far in this meet, besides her 100 back record, she’s also swum a best time in the 200 free on a relay leadoff (1:44.30, improving on a 1:44.49) and the 500 free.
In that 500 free final on Thursday, Smith swam a 4:37.10 which broke Hannah Cox’s old Meet Record of 4:37.82 from 2015. That’s smith’s best time by 4-and-a-half seconds.
She still has individual entries in the 100 free, 200 free, and 200 fly remaining; plus a few more relay swims.
What is great here is her expansion of events. Not just a backstroker.
She set NAG records in fly as a 10- and 12-year old.
She was also 144/441 frees LAST year. Not a surprise that she went 437 this year.
Her 4.37 in the 500 free is remarkable indeed.
Two years ago she was explosive in backstroke (particularly) and fly, with great underwaters, now she has built endurance also in her third best stroke (the free).
Incredible! That time would rank 2nd in the ncaa so far this season with only Beata Nelson’s American record faster