Regan Smith was so riddled with self-doubt the American thought her days of breaking backstroke records were gone for good, but after learning to tame her emotions, she is once again on top of the world.
Smith on Tuesday said that the newfound sense of belief in herself was key to regaining a 100m backstroke world record she set in 2019 as a 17-year-old.
“It’s confidence all the way,” she told reporters after clocking a sizzling time of 57.13 seconds at the US Olympic trials to slash 0.2 seconds off Australian Kaylee McKeown’s mark.
Photo: AFP
“I’ve always had it physically. I’ve always had like a God-given natural ability to swim backstroke, but I just never believed in myself ever and that’s always going to be a work-in-progress,” she said.
In contrast to the highs of setting a world record in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Tuesday, Smith said her lowest point came at trails for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“I just didn’t want to be there. I wasn’t excited. I had no faith in myself,” she said. “I wanted other people to do it because I thought that they were going to be better at doing it than I was.”
That began to change when she started working with a sports psychologist in October last year.
The 22-year-old said she has seen steady improvement in her mental health and performances ever since.
“What I really struggle with is separating emotion from logic, and I think the best of the best, they are able to stay logical in the hardest times,” she said. “Because when logic goes out the door and emotion comes in, that’s when you choke, and I did that over and over because I just let my emotions take over.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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