2020 PRO SWIM SERIES – DES MOINES
- March 4-7, 2020
- Des Moines, Iowa
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Info
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
18-year old Regan Smith has re-broken her own Pro Swim Series Record in the women’s 100 meter backstroke, swimming a 58.18 in finals on Saturday evening in Des Moines. That swim breaks the previous Meet Record of 58.26 that Smith set at the last stop in the series in January in Knoxille, Tennessee.
Comparative Splits:
| Smith’s Old PSS Record | Smith’s New PSS Record | Smith’s World Record | |
| 1st 50 | 28.36 | 28.09 | 27.74 |
| 2nd 50 | 29.90 | 30.09 | 29.83 |
| Total Time | 58.26 | 58.18 | 57.57 |
Smith showed good front-end speed in her new record-breaking swim on Saturday. The time is the second-best 100 backstroke of her career, behind only the World Record that she swam on a 400 medley relay leadoff leg last summer. It also ties as the 6th-fastest performance in history.
Top 10 Performances, Women’s 100 Back
- Regan Smith, 57.57, USA – 2019 World Championships
- Kathleen Baker, 58.00, USA – 2018 US Summer Nationals
- Kylie Masse, 58.10, Canada – 2017 World Championships
- Gemma Spofforth, 58.12, Great Britain – 2009 World Championships
- Kylie Masse, 58.16, Canada – 2019 Canadian Trials
- Regan Smith, 58.18, USA – 2020 PSS Des Moines (TIE)
- Anastasia Fesikova, 58.18, Russia – 2009 World Championships (TIE)
- Kylie Masse, 58.18, Canada – 2017 World Championships (TIE)
- Kylie Masse, 58.19, Canada – 2019 Canadian Trials
- Kylie Masse, 58.21, Canada – 2017 Canadian Swimming Trials
Smith enters 2020 as the presumptive favorite to win the World Championship in the 100 back; however, the last 2 World Record holders Kathleen Baker and Kylie Masse aren’t far off the pace. Baker placed 2nd in Des Moines in 58.56, which is the fastest in-season time of her career by two-tenths of a second. Masse isn’t racing at this meet, but as the table above shows, has been a 58-low far more than any other swimmer in history. Masse owns 6 of the 11 fastest swims in history in the event.
It has been a record-breaking week for Smith: besides this series record, she also broke U.S. 17-18 National Age Group Records this week in both the 100m fly (57.34) and 200m fly (2:06.39).
Really only 1 spot open for 100 bk at trials, with Smith a lock in at this point. Going to be a dogfight between Kathleen and Olivia for the 2nd spot…
+ Bacon
Bacon is ahead of Smoliga
Women’s 100 m backstroke
Personal Best
Bacon – 58.63 (12/06/2019)
Smoliga – 58.73 (04/12/2019)
Deloof for the 2nd spot
Times 2-10 are so dense
Also what happened to the recap article?
Regan Smith broke SwimSwam.
To put the top ten in perspective:
Baker (DOB 28 Feb 1997)
Masse (DOB 18 Jan 1996)
Smith (DOB 9 Feb 2002)
It’s insane how many times they’ve managed to get under the former WR that had stood the careers of Franklin, Coughlin and Seebohm