American star Regan Smith is still planning to enroll at Stanford for the upcoming school year despite the Olympic postponement, she told SwimSwam.
The world record holder – SwimSwam’s top recruit of the past decade – announced her commitment in June 2019 and was previously slated to start college after presumably making her first Olympic team this summer. Historically, a handful of others in her position, including former Cardinal team member Katie Ledecky in 2016, have opted to take an Olympic redshirt and defer their freshman seasons by a year.
The plan, of course, is pending the re-opening of campus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it’s time that I take the next step in my swimming career and head to college,” Smith, 18, wrote in an email. “I feel pretty lucky because my coach Mike [Paratto] and coach Greg [Meehan] have a very trusting relationship and they have worked wonderfully together. I think my training will be fantastic no matter which of those two I train under. I’m in good hands and even though I’ll be training under Greg in the future, Mike will still be an important piece of what I’m doing.”
Since her summer 2019 breakout, amid NCAA amateurism discussions, Smith has been touted as an obvious benefactor should the association allow student-athletes to profit from their performances. She earned about $140,000 at the 2019 FINA World Championships, including $67,500 in world record bonuses, but could only keep about $41,000 under current rules, according to Yahoo Sports.
Last week, the NCAA announced it would move to “modernize” its policies by the 2021-22 school year by allowing student-athletes to earn compensation based on their names, images, and likenesses (including from social media, personal businesses and personal appearances, provided they fall under a set of guiding principles established by the board). While that policy wouldn’t apply to prize money as of now, it could lead to longer college careers for athletes like Smith who might otherwise turn pro early.
Smith has long maintained that she values the college experience over the ability to earn money in the immediate future, but with the news, says she would be excited to have both.
“There’s been rumors about change swirling for a while now but I’m really hoping that the change is solidified in the next year or two,” Smith said. “I have always wanted to become a professional swimmer but I’ve wanted to be a part of a collegiate team more so that’s my priority right now. Having the opportunity to do both would be amazing.”
Boy I bet all those backseat drivers telling her to go pro feel really stupid right about now.
The Avery Aquatic Center sells itself for recruits.
https://gostanford.com/facilities/avery-aquatic-center/4
More importantly, the school sells itself as well.
Do all high level performers like Reagan have the ability to swim at some or any pool like Reagan is currently able to do at Riptide?
By now, it appears as though the vast majority of swimmers of that caliber are in the water in some form-or-fashion. Not all have shared publicly (I think many are worried about the backlash), but most around the country and especially around the world are.
It’s tough to swim outdoors in the state of Minnesota on a block of ice. The spring thaw usually arrives around the 4th of July.
most pools are capable of being heated, along with the ability to wear a wetsuit comes to mind..
Between Regan Smith and Lillie Nordmann, Katie Drabot must be in the crosshairs of the women’s 200m butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Hopefully it will not stop her progression before olympic games. It worked so well with her coach Paratto.
I really thought Mike and Regan were going to put something special together, similar to Bruce and Katie in 2016. I do not think it was out of the realm of possibility for Regan to win the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 fly (plus relays). I am sad for the swimming world that we did not get to see this play out, although I do wish the best for Regan as she starts the next chapter of her life.
Time to pull the archived footage of another famous Stanford student athlete to work on those underwater dolphin kicks.
Taking STUDENT athlete to heart! good for her to go ahead and get such a valuable education! hopefully shes there in person and not in virtual classes next semester!
Dude she made 41k. Jeez
Glad to see she now has great options in terms of swimming: pro, college, or both. If covid were to limit her swimming options, getting a Stanford education would be excellent as well, which’s her “dream as a little girl”.