Regan Smith finished her 2025 World Championships in the same manner she concluded her 2024 Olympic games — with a gold medal. With a world record.
With a bang.
Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske of Team United States celebrate winning gold and setting a new championship record of 3:49.34 in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay Final on day 24 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships at World Aquatics Championships Arena on Aug. 03, 2025 in Singapore. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Smith led off Team USA’s 4×100 meter medley relay by turning in a swim of 57.57 seconds in the backstroke leg, part of the Americans’ gold medal-winning time of 3 minutes, 49.34 seconds. That was a new world record, besting the time set by the U.S. in the last summer’s Olympics by nearly three tenths of a second. It was three seconds better than second-place Australia on Saturday.
Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske joined Smith in the relay in Saturday’s final.
“It feels really good, ending the season this way with Team USA,” Smith told reporters. “We have so much faith and we’re so proud of this medley relay. We always like ending with a bang. And so we love that and we bring our all every single time, and we wanted to deliver tonight, and that’s what we did.”
The result moved Team USA’s gold medal count to nine on the final day of competition, pushing it one clear of the Australians. The Americans finished with 29 medals in total, including 11 silvers. Four of those belong to Smith, who placed second in the 50-meter backstroke, the 100-meter backstroke, the 200-meter backstroke and the 200-meter butterfly.
Smith claimed five medals in total at the World Championships in Singapore, the same tally she reached in Paris the year prior. While individual gold is always the ultimate goal, Smith’s consistent excellence continues to move her up the pantheon of great American swimmers.
For her career, Smith has already logged 23 medals between World Championship and Olympic competitions, eight of which are gold.
The 23 year old continues to be on a good pace for her career, with three years remaining until the Olympic “home game” in Los Angeles.
She’ll be 26 at that point, which is still well within a swimmer’s competitive window. American breastroker Lilly King is retiring at age 29 following these World Championships. American distance freestyler Katie Ledecky is still a dominant force at age 28.
It’s not absurd to think Smith could swim at as many as two more Olympics, with numerous World Championship appearances mixed within that span. At her current rate of success, who knows how many medals Smith could corral by the end of her career.
The count continues.
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