Regan Smith & Gretchen Walsh No-Show 50 Backstroke At Carmel World Cup

2025 SWIMMING WORLD CUP – CARMEL

• October 10-12, 2025
• Carmel, Indiana
• SCM (25 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Women’s 50 Backstroke – Prelims

• World Record: 25.23 – Regan Smith, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 26.03 – Sara Curtis, ITA (2024)
• World Cup Record: 25.36 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 25.37 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)

Top 8:

1. Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 25.72
2. Katharine Berkoff (CLB) – 25.96
3. Celia Pulido Ortiz (MEX) – 26.04
4. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) – 26.05
5. Arabella Sims (CLB) – 26.26
6. Kylie Masse (CAN) – 26.34
7. Charlotte Crush (CLB) – 26.64
8. Hannah Fredericks (AUS) – 26.71

The second event of the Carmel World Cup leg, the women’s 50 backstroke, saw the first and third seeds scratch from the preliminary heats. World record holder Regan Smith (25.23) and Gretchen Walsh (25.37) both opted out of the event.

Smith is slated to compete in the 200 butterfly later in the session, while Walsh is the top seed in both the 50 free and 100 IM scheduled for the end of the morning.

With their scratches, Smith will focus on that 200 fly in addition to the 100 and 200 back events over the next two days, while Walsh, assuming she swims at least one of her events today, is also slated to race the 50 and 100 fly later this week.

While no official reason has been given for the scratches, it’s likely strategic. Swimmers can race as many events as they want at each stop, but only their three best swims count toward their overall standing.

With $112,000 USD on offer for each gender at each stop ($672,000 for the whole series), limiting events could mean targeting world records or better scores in other events. Prize money is awarded to the top 20 finishers at each stop, with men and women scored separately. In the event of a tie, the swimmer with the higher AQUA Power Points in their best event wins.

Additionally, a $10,000 bonus is awarded for any world record broken during the series.

This is Walsh’s first time committing to the World Cup circuit, while Smith swept the 100 and 200 back events last year, breaking the world record in the 100 twice and the 200 once, in addition to winning the 200 fly at a stop and the 50 back at two stops.

Both Smith and Walsh are no strangers to the short course meter pool, having both dominated at the World Short Course Championships last December.

Coming off the World Cup, Smith continued her momentum at Worlds, resetting world records and grabbing gold in all three women’s backstroke events.

After chasing Maggie MacNeil’s 50 mark of 25.25 all season, Smith finally got under that mark in the event’s final, swimming a time of 25.23 for the win.

She went on to reset her own 200 back record, dropping a time of 1:58.04 en route to holding off Summer McIntosh for the gold.

Though she couldn’t eclipse her own world record of 54.27 in the 100 back final, she still set a Championship record of 54.55. However, in the following days she broke her mark twice (technically), first posting an (unofficial) world record of 54.19 to lead off the mixed 4×100 medley relay, then adding an official mark of 54.02 leading off the women’s 4×100 medley relay (with the relay setting a world record by over 3 seconds).

Smith walked away from the meet with 7 medals, including 3 individual gold medals and 1 relay gold medal. She also picked up a silver medal in the 200 fly.

Walsh’s 2024 SC World Championships Summary:

• 5 individual gold medals
  • 50 free, 100 free, 50 fly, 100 fly, 100 IM
• 2 relay gold medals
  • Women’s 4×100 medley relay, women’s 4×100 freestyle relay
• 9 individual world records
  • 50 free (2x) – 22.83, 22.87
  • 50 fly (2x) – 23.94, 24.02
  • 100 fly (3x) – 52.71, 52.84, 53.24
  • 100 IM (2x) – 55.11, 55.71
• 2 relay world records
  • Women’s 4×100 medley relay, women’s 4×100 freestyle relay
• Most World Records ever set at a Championship Meet
  • Previously held by Mark Spitz as he set 7 World Records at the 1972 Olympic Games and Michael Phelps who also set 7 World Records at the 2008 Olympic Games, abeit in a supersuit
• First swimmer to ever break the World Record in the prelims, semis, and finals of the same race
  • 100 butterfly
• 2nd American woman to win 7 gold medals at a single edition of the World Championships
  • Olivia Smoliga won 8 in 2018
• First American woman to win 5 individual golds at a single edition of the World Championships
• First woman to go under 54 and 53 seconds in the 100m butterfly
• First woman to go under 24 seconds in the 50m butterfly
• World Aquatics female swimmer of the meet
• Over $290,000 in estimated earnings 
  • More than every country aside from the United States