American Reagan Smith regained the world record in the 100-meter backstroke from Australian Kylie McKeown, on Tuesday, in the American swimming qualifiers for the Paris Olympics held in Indianapolis, after she recorded 57.13 seconds.
With her performance in the final, she broke the record of 57.33 seconds and also qualified to face McCune in the same race at the Paris Games.
“I’m very proud of myself,” Smith said to the cheers of thousands of fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.
She added, “I face difficulties sometimes in backstroke races, but fighting in this way and regaining the world record means a lot to me.”
Catherine Berkoff came in second place with a time of 57.91 seconds.
Smith, a three-time Olympic medalist who won bronze in this race at the Tokyo Olympics, is still waiting to compete in two more qualifying events and said she would not go overboard in celebrating her world record.
She explained, “We will celebrate here for a few minutes before quickly resuming work.”
“I have more things I want to accomplish this week,” she continued.
Smith previously set a world record in this race at the 2019 World Championships in South Korea, but she said she had doubts about regaining her peak brilliance again.
The 22-year-old American swimmer told reporters, “There were several years after 2019 when I thought I would never do it again.”
“It took a long time and a lot of training to increase my confidence.”
With the help of experts in sports psychology, Smith is now full of confidence heading into Paris as she believes she can break the record again.
“I think I or one of the competitors can reach 56 seconds,” she said.
Smith’s world record was the second during these Olympic qualifiers after Gretchen Walsh set a new record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly last Saturday with a time of 55.18 seconds.
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