Regan Smith breaks her American record in 100m backstroke
Regan Smith broke her own American record in the 100m backstroke three weeks before the Olympic Trials.
Smith clocked 57.51 seconds at the Speedo Grand Challenge in Irvine, California, on Sunday.
She took six hundredths off her American record from the 2019 World Championships, when at age 17 she broke Missy Franklin's then-world record leading off a medley relay.
Smith came into Sunday as the second-fastest woman in history and remains in that position.
Australian Kaylee McKeown owns the world record of 57.33 from last October, plus the four fastest times overall.
McKeown and Smith went one-two in that order in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstrokes at last July's world championships. McKeown lowered the world record in all three backstrokes in 2023.
The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials are June 15-23 in Indianapolis, where the top two in most events make the team for Paris.
