Skip to main content
Join

Regan Smith closes strong to set American record for silver medal in women's 200-meter butterfly final

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•08/01/24
Regan Smith
Photo by Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY Sports

The United States has claimed another Olympic medal in Paris in the pool, this time courtesy of Regan Smith in the 200-meter butterfly.

Smith had to push hard to medal, in third place at the final turn and seemingly giving ground to Australian swimmer Elizabeth Dekkers. Then Smith hit the wall and pulled away with a brilliant final turn into the last 50 meters.

For a moment, it even looked like Smith might challenge race leader Summer McIntosh of Canada. But McIntosh had enough cushion and closed strong to take the gold with an Olympic record 2:03.03.

Regan Smith’s time of 2:03.84 to take the silver was an American record.

You can view the complete race results below.

Women’s 200-meter Butterfly

  1. Summer McIntosh, Canada – (OR) 2:03.03
  2. Regan Smith, United States – (AR) 2:03.84
  3. Zhang Yufei, China – 2:05.09
  4. Elizabeth Dekkers, Australia – 2:07.11
  5. Helena Rosendahl Bach, Denmark – 2:07.11
  6. Alex Shackell, United States – 2:07.73
  7. Abbey Lee Connor, Australia – 2:08.82
  8. Laura Stephens, Great Britain – 2:08.82

Prior to reaching the Olympics, Regan Smith was in excellent form in the pool, as evidenced by some lights-out times at the Olympic trials.

She even set a new world record in the 100-meter backstroke during the trials, clocking a time of 57.13 seconds.

Smith is a former Stanford swimmer who now spends her time training in Austin, Texas.

A member of the swimming team at Stanford for the 2021-22 season before leaving to make the switch to become a professional, Smith later trained at Arizona State with coach Bob Bowman, who also worked with Michael Phelps.

Smith won an NCAA title in 2022 with her time of 1:47.76 in the 200-yard backstroke event. That time also set a record as it’s clear the backstroke is what she is the most equipped to win. She also helped Stanford to first place finishes in the 4×50-yard medley relay and 4×200-yard freestyle relay in the Pac-12 Championship.

Smith earned the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year for that season. She later would go on to win two gold medals at the 2022 World Championships, one in the 100-meter backstroke and one in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Smith earned silver medals in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter backstrokes one year later in the 2023 World Championships.

On3’s Chandler Vessels also helped contribute to this report.