Olivia Smoliga Knocks 4-Tenths of a Second Off Her American Record in 100 Back

2020 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE FINAL – DAY 2

• Saturday, November 21: 2:00PM – 4:00PM CET (8 AM  – 10 AM U.S. Eastern, 10 PM  – 12 AM Japan)
• Sunday, November 22: 6:00PM  – 8:00PM CET (12 PM – 2 PM U.S. Eastern, 2 AM  – 4 AM Monday J+1 Japan)
• Duna Arena – Budapest, Hungary
• Short Course Meters (SCM) format
• ISL Technical Handbook
• 2020 ISL Scoring Format
• 2020 ISL Prize Money and Bonuses
• How To Watch
• Teams: Energy Standard / Cali Condors / London Roar / LA Current
• Day 2 Start Lists
• Day 1 Full Results
• Omega Results

American backstroker Olivia Smoliga, racing this weekend for the Cali Condors at the 2020 International Swimming League final, started off the season very fast – breaking the American Record in the 50 back in the season-opener and almost taking down her own American Record in the 100 back.

While she’s continued to win, and that’s important in the ISL format, her times haven’t been quite at that level in this meet.

But on Sunday, in the final day of the final meet of the season, she swam a near-perfect race to crush her own American Record in the 100 back, swimming 55.04. That broke her own record of 55.47 set at the 2018 World Short Course Championships.

Splits Comparison:

Smoliga went out aggressively in her swim on Sunday, and was still able to finish faster than in her previous best time. It was the opener that returned her to fast swimming this season – in the semifinals, for example, she was out in 27.28 en route to a 55.99 finish.

Smoliga has 8 backstroke wins in 10 swims in her ISL career, including 4-of-5 this year after losing in Match 8.

The swim for Smoliga is also the 3rd-fastest performance in history.

All-Time Top 10, Women’s 100 SCM Backstroke, Top Performances:

1. Minna Atherton, Australia, 2019 – 54.89
2. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary, 2014 – 55.03
3. Olivia Smoliga, United States, 2020 – 55.04
4. Minna Atherton, Australia, 2019 – 55.09
5. Minna Atherton, Australia, 2019 – 55.12
6. Kira Toussaint, Netherlands, 2019 – 55.17
7. Shiho Sakai, Japan, 2010 – 55.23
8. Kira Toussaint, Netherlands, 2019 – 55.26
9. Minna Atherton, Australia, 2019, – 55.29
10. Emily Seebohm, Australia, 2014 – 55.31

Minna Atherton, who holds the World Record and 3 of the 5 best performances in history after a breakout year last season, isn’t participating in the 2020 season of the ISL, like most Australians.