Smith's 54.41 Cup Win Takes Down McKeown's Month-Old 100 Back WR in Little Pool
At the World Cup in Incheon, American Regan Smith celebrates the 11th World backstroke record of her career - and the first of those in the little pool, the standard downed a day shy of a month after Aussie Kaylee McKeown set the mark in Adelaide
American Regan Smith took down the World short-course 100m backstroke record with a scorching 54.41 sprint on day 2 of 3 at the second leg of the 2024 World Cup series in Incheon, Korea, today. The moment marked her 11th career backstroke global standard, and the first she's set in the 25m pool.
The standard had stood one day shy of a month, pioneering quadruple Olympic backstroke champion Kaylee McKeown having established the mark at 54.56 in Adelaide before she raced to a World Cup record in the 50m on the opening day of the 2024 Cup in Shanghai and then promptly withdrew from the series citing need of an "long overdue" rest.
Smith did not have her old sparring partner and friend in the wash with her today as she turned in 26.67, 0.02sec inside the half-way pace of McKeown's effort last month. A 13.91 split swept the American home to the win and the 11th World backstroke record of her career - and the first of those in the little pool.
Her pace drew three others beyond the 900-plus-point line, Canadian Ingrid Wilm closest, in 54.14, the winner's U.S. mate Beata Nelson third in 54.41, with non-Russian neutral Anastasiya Shkurdai on 56.47.
Other highlights of the day included a sizzling and lonely 1:51.02 from Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey in the 200m freestyle and a pugilistic, stroke-for-stroke scrap in the 200m medley between Olympic 200 medley gold and silver aces Léon Marchand and Duncan Scott.
- WORLD CUP RESULTS IN FULL
