Regan Smith on Coaching Below Bowman, Chasing the Excellent Taper, and the Street Forward

In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast, we sit down with 8-time Olympic medalist Regan Smith after a 2026 season that has been quick, revealing and, at instances, irritating.

At the Pan Pacific Championships, Regan got here away with gold within the 200 backstroke, silver within the 50 and 100 again, and a fourth-place within the 200 IM. But the outcomes don’t inform the entire story.

In each of her signature backstroke occasions, Regan was quicker in prelims than within the remaining. She went 57.86 within the 100 again prelim earlier than ending second in 58.11, then dropped a 2:04.13 within the 200 again prelim earlier than profitable the ultimate in 2:05.57.

For one of the crucial constant swimmers on the planet, that morning-to-night disconnect stands out. We dig into what occurred at Pan Pacs and what Regan realized from it. And Regan is her on personal harshest critic. In this podcast she’s pondering by way of her season, noting her frustration that she educated repeated 8k colour units forward of the Fort Lauderdale Open and ripped a 57.4 100m again–however tapers for Pan Pacs and doesn’t get underneath 58 at evening within the finals.

Through that lens, we glance again at 2026 and the larger image. Regan has been remarkably constant within the 100 again, repeatedly racing within the 57-second vary whereas carrying a heavy coaching load. In the 200 again, she is as soon as once more approaching the two:03.35 lifetime finest. And essentially the most attention-grabbing developments occurred outdoors Regan’s conventional occasions. She set lifetime bests this 12 months within the 200 freestyle (1:56.9) and 400 IM (4:35.7), whereas additionally producing elite instances of 55.94 within the 100 fly and a couple of:04.73 within the 200 fly. We ask about her increasing occasion vary and the way it figures into her coaching and  her schedule underneath coach Bob Bowman.

The panorama round Regan is altering, and it modified this 12 months. Katharine Berkoff beat her in each the 50 and 100 again at Pan Pacs, whereas Isabelle Stadden has emerged as one other world-class risk. Before Regan can fear about Kaylee McKeown internationally, the race merely to make the U.S. Olympic staff is changing into more and more powerful.

We ask Regan about McKeown, who took the season off resulting from glandular fever. McKeown later added extra context to her challenges, explaining on the Something To Talk About podcast that she was additionally managing endometriosis, a power medical situation by which tissue much like the liner of the uterus grows outdoors it and may trigger extreme pelvic ache.

Much of Regan’s podcast is about taper—mastering a taper—after which about coaching and what coaching truly means 12 months over 12 months whenever you’re paying into the base-bank at a excessive stage.

Regan additionally seems ahead to the autumn, and we witness in actual time how she thinks about whether or not to coach by way of or give attention to the U.S. Short Course World Championship Trials. At this time limit, she seems to be leaning towards U.S. World Trials.

Off subject, but it surely deserves mentioning, Regan stories that the USA Swimming National Team expertise has tremendously improved, and that she feels supported and extra assured on the highway to 2028.

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Many because of Swimoutlet.com for his or her 15 12 months partnership and assist of this swimming information and media.

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This is a Gold Medal Media manufacturing offered by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News web site.

Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed company don’t essentially mirror the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam promoting companions.