2024 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – SINGAPORE
- Thursday, October 31st – Saturday, November 2nd
- OCBC Aquatic Centre, Singapore
- Prelims at 9:30am local (9:30pm ET previous night)/Finals at 6:30pm local (6:30am ET)
- SCM (25m)
- Meet Central
- Competition Schedule
- Entries Book
- Day 1 Finals Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
- Live Results
Make that two world records in a week for Regan Smith.
At the final stop of the World Cup in Singapore, Smith continued to wreak havoc on the record books with a new short-course 100-meter backstroke world record of 54.27. The swim betters the 54.41 she swam for a world record in Incheon by .14 seconds.
The women’s 100 backstroke all-time rankings have been in a constant state of flux to begin the short-course meters season. Just over a month ago, Kaylee McKeown first broke the world record with a 54.56 at the Australian Short Course Championships in late September.
Smith moved closer to that standard in Shanghai with a 54.89, tying the American record and #2 all-time performance Gretchen Walsh clocked stateside earlier in the day. She broke through McKeown’s world record in Incheon, slicing .15 seconds off McKeown’s mark with her 54.41.
Now, Smith has separated herself even further in the event as she sits .29 seconds ahead of McKeown.
All-Time Performers, Women’s 100 Backstroke (SCM)
- Regan Smith (USA), 54.27 –2024
- Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 54.56 – 2024
- Minna Atherton (AUS) / Gretchen Walsh (USA), 54.89 – 2019 / 2024
- –
- Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 55.03 – 2014
- Olivia Smoliga (USA), 55.04 – 2020
- Kira Toussaint (NED), 55.17 – 2019
- Louise Hansson (SWE), 55.20 – 2021
- Kylie Masse (CAN), 55.22 – 2021
- Shiho Sakai (JPN), 55.23 – 2009
Smith’s world record in Incheon marked the first short-course meters world record of her career. But her mark in Singapore is her third 100 backstroke world record of the year; in long course, she swam a 57.13 at the U.S. Olympic Trials to break a standard also set by McKeown.
Split Comparison
| Smith – Singapore, New WR | Smith – Incheon, Old WR | Smith – Shanghai, Old AR | |
| 50 | 26.06 | 26.67 | 26.59 |
| 100 | 54.27 (28.21) | 54.51 (27.74) | 54.89 (28.30) |
Smith let it rip on the opening 50 meters, flipping at the halfway point in 26.06. It’s by far the fastest opening 50 of her three swims on the World Cup, a full .53 seconds ahead of her Shanghai pace, and .61 seconds ahead of her world record pace from Incheon. Her “to the feet” 50 split would have taken fourth in yesterday’s women’s 50 backstroke final.
She followed up her opening speed with a 28.21 closing split. That allowed the her world-record pace to creep up on her, but her opening 50 was so fast that she was still able to get her hand on the wall in record-setting time. While she certainly felt the price for going out that quickly, she was still able to come back faster than she did in Shanghai, which at 28.30 is her slowest closing split across the competition.
In addition to the prize money she receives for setting a world record, this swim completed Smith’s 100 backstroke Triple Crown, earning her another $10,000.
This was the second world record in as many events in Singapore. The event before, Leon Marchand broke Ryan Lochte‘s 200 IM world record.
Race Video
Courtesy: NBC Sports
Regan Smith will need to break the World Record in the W 200 BK (SCM) to have a shot at the women’s overall points total.
Happy Swimmer Fast Swimmer….
I said it once before. This woman will go down as the best female backstroker of all time by the time her career is over.
She’s already one of the best ever, of course. But it’s gotta be unlikely that she can match McKeown’s Olympic success, which goes a long way toward determining the “greatest.” Maybe “best” is different from “greatest?”
Regan is not the ‘best’ either. ‘Greatest’ and ‘best’ imply being better than others. They have a meet every 4 years to decide that, and she has not been the best at any point yet. She is so far ranked behind McKeown, Egerszegi and Franklin. Possibly next best though.
Her world records and complete domination of the backstroke beg to differ. McKeown is good but she’ll always be second best to Regan.
“Complete domination” of what backstroke? She’s won 1 backstroke race at a major competition in the last 5 years and the world record holder wasn’t entered
keep trying. Your lknowledge of swimming is not great. 0 individual gold medlas at Olympics speaks for itself.
Swimming fans aren’t as vociferous in their conversations about who’s the best compared to more traditional sports simply because there’s less of them but if you were to make an argument that one basketball team is the best of all time but you looked back on their prime and they were beaten every single time they faced the #2 best team people wouldn’t accept that to be true anymore
Thanks for the basketball analogy. One swimmer continually leads her team to victory while the other chases individual accolades. 30 years from now no one will remember McKeown but we’ll all remember when Regan set 4 world records in 4 months.
People remember winners of Olympic individual titles. McKeown has 4 (so far).
Going by that logic no one will remember that Regan went to the Olympics.
You have said that before. I have said once before that you may be a swimdad but you are not a swimfan. You do not know enough about the sport to be a fan. You should take your blinkers off and watch some other swimmers, you will reeally love swimming when you see some others.
Swim dad is a troll, nothing more to it.
Says the Aussie troll.
That’s a very bitter and nonsensical take. I know more swimming than you can ever hope for. Just an FYI.
If you say you know so much, surely you know that Individaul Olympic gold medals count and your ‘greatest ever backstroker’ does not have ANY yet. I know you are just trolling, but troll about something that could be true and you will come off looking more knowledgable.
Again…
She would need to win the backstroke double at both LA and Brisbane to even be in the conversation for the best ever. As it stands she would be lucky to be considered top 5.
Has any other swimmer ever been considered top 5 all time without an individual Olympic gold medal?
No. That honor will belong to Kaylee McKeown. But keep on dreaming. I mean, if it makes you happy.
Who?
Less world records, less Olympic championships, less world championships than another swimmer who has beaten her in every race for the last 5 years.
Obvious troll is obvious
Regan and Douglas are unstoppable!
It seems like they have no offseason either.
The records and medals keep coming!
I wonder if this pool is actually not 25 meters. It makes no sense all of those world records when the same swimmers have been doing the same races for 2 weeks and not being this fast.
But Regan and Douglass both broke the WR in the same events last week in a different pool? I don’t understand your point.
You must be Australian
Yup!
99% sure they are not Australian. You all say this as your default when we are all asleep down under. The main criticism of Regan has always been from the USA commenters on here.
I am really happy for Regan. Great swim.
Ya they totally forgot to measure the pool at this international meet with multiple swimmers capable of breaking world records
Marchand almost broke Lochte’s LC WR this summer and he’s better at SC so idk how this is surprising.
Edit: Ok i thought this was the Marchand article but my point still stands
Yeah it makes no sense that people who don’t race SCM as much as they race LCM get faster as they get more practice/racing with the format. I really don’t understand how they could improve.
It’s also not possible at all that racing and training plans were set up to optimize performance at the last stop. Coaches clearly couldn’t know that this 3 week period with more racing and less training could be set-up to work like a mini taper/rest and plan the workouts that do happen during that period to optimize the final stop either.
It has to be the pool because everything else just makes no sense!
So you’re saying the pool is 30 meters? 🤣🤣
Leon was clearly a little out of top aerobic shape at stop 1 and has gotten better each week. Kate & Regan are getting more & more acclimated to SCM, which is a much bigger factor than a lot of people seem to realize.
For swimmers like the Kate and Regan who traveled across half the world, it takes time to adjust to both travel fatigue and jet lag. It takes about a day per hour of change to adjust which would have been about when they were racing in Korea and setting their first world records.