Regan Smith upgraded her World Cup record from Friday for a world record Saturday night (18 October) at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Westmont, USA.
The American stormed to victory in the 100m backstroke, clocking a 54.02 to equal her own (short course) world record in the event, beating Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, (55.04) the Olympic champion, along the way.
“The crowd has been really amped up tonight,” a beaming Smith told the Illinois audience. “There’s nothing better than racing at home. This is just a small taste of what LA [2028] is going to be like.”
McKeown is the two-time and reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 100m backstroke, an event that Smith has claimed silver (Paris 2024) and bronze (Tokyo 2020) in.
Smith’s World Cup mark came in the 200m butterfly on Friday (17 October) night.
Her close friend and USA teammate Kate Douglass won for the second night in a row on Day 2 of action in Westmont, claiming the women’s 100m breaststroke in 1:03.14.
She was nearly a full second ahead of second-place finisher, Mona McSharry in 1:04.18.
“I watched them break world records,” Douglass said after her race, a partial nod to Smith’s mark from earlier. “[I thought], it’s my time to get up there and do my thing.”
It was a shining night for the women as Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan also set a new world record in the women’s 200m freestyle, clocking a 1:49.77. It’s a first-ever sub-1:50 in the event.
“I had a great support team behind me and I had to trust my gut at the end of the day,” a thrilled O’Callaghan said.