INDIANAPOLIS — This world record was five years in the making for Regan Smith.
What an up-and-down journey it has been.
Bouncing back from a close-but-no-Olympics call in her first race, Smith set a world record in the women’s 100-meter backstroke at the U.S. swimming trials Tuesday night.
The swimmer from Minnesota touched in 57.13 seconds, easily beating the mark of 57.33 set a year ago by Australia’s Kaylee McKeown.
And Smith, 22, thinks she can improve on her record in Paris.
“I think 56 is a possibility for sure, whether it’s me, whether it’s one of my competitors, who knows,” she said. “That was an amazing race, but it wasn’t a perfect race. So I know there’s things that I can clean up and do better, and I’m going to work towards that.”
Smith was just 17 years old when she first set a world record in the 100 back at the 2019 world championships. But she struggled to deal with the sudden, newfound fame, ceding dominance in the event to McKeown.
“A long time coming,” Smith said. “It’s about time.”
There was never any doubt about Smith’s talent, but a lack of confidence was almost crippling at times.
She has been working with a sports psychologist since October, which helped turn things around from a mental standpoint. Her coach, Bob…
