Regan Smith Swims :52/1:54 in Unsuited Butterfly Time Trials on Friday

2020 Riptide Intrasquad

• July 24-26, 2020
• SCY (25y) pool
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2020 MN RIPT JULY INTRASQUAD”

World Record holder Regan Smith swam the 100 and 200 yard butterflies on Friday on the first day of her team’s July intrasquad event. The results, which saw her finish first in both events, are her first official racing since mid-March.

Smith swam a 52.16 in the 100 yard fly and 1:54.80 in the 200 yard fly. Her best times in those races are 50.45 and 1:51.24, respectively. Her best time in the 100 fly was done in March of 2019, while her best time in the 200 fly was done in December of 2018 at the Winter Junior Championships – West. She is the 16th-best performer of all-time in the 100 yard fly and 9th-best performer of all-time in the 200 yard fly.

Smith is most-famous for her backstroke events after breaking World Records in both the 100 meter and 200 meter backstrokes at last summer’s World Championships in Gwangju. She finished 2nd in both the 100 and 200 meter butterflies at her last major meet, the Pro Swim Series stop in Des Moines, Iowa in early March.

Her coach, Mike Parratto, has hinted that her event lineup at the Olympic Trials will be the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 fly, though those comments came before the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games were postponed from 2020 to 2021 as a result of the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

Riptide first returned to training, officially, on June 1, and this is the team’s first big time trial event since USA Swimming began sanctioning meets on July 1. Smith is not scheduled to race any other events, though the time trials will continue through the weekend.

On Thursday, Smith downplayed the significance of the event for her, saying that she wasn’t suited, nor was she really breaking training for the event. She says that she considers the swims to be “basically a practice with pads on the wall.”

Smith has finished her high school career and is scheduled to begin studying at and competing for Stanford this fall, though it’s still not entirely clear what athletics will look like for the Cardinal this fall. Freshmen, sophomores, and new transfer students are scheduled to be on campus during the fall quarter, which is scheduled to begin on September 14, and then learn remotely until the summer. The school has not yet decided what, exactly, that plan will mean for student-athletes.

Last summer, the 18-year old Smith won World Championships in both the 200 back and as part of the American 400 medley relay. She broke individual World Records in both the 200 back and on the leadoff leg of that medley relay, which also broke a World Record as a ream.

Other Notable Results From Friday’s Swims:

• 14-year old Maddie Ngo had a breakout swim in a new event, dropping almost 18 seconds to go 2:20.91 in the 200 yard back. That improves her from a previous “B” time in the event to an “A” time under USA Swimming’s motivational time standards.
• Jackson Kehler swam 51.31 in the boys’ 100 fly, 22.16 in the 50 free, and 1:53.93 in the 200 fly. The rising high school junior is the defending Minnesota Class AA State Champion in both the 200 free and 500 free.