More records, another gold for Minnesota swimmer Regan Smith at world championships
Minnesota teen Regan Smith's stellar showing at the world swimming championships continued Sunday with two world records and another gold medal.
Smith was part of the victorious U.S. women's 4x100 medley relay in South Korea. She joined Lilly King, Kelsi Dahlia and Simone Manuel to win in a world-record 3 minutes, 50.40 seconds, lowering the mark of 3:51.55 set two years ago in Hungary. Manuel outdid Australia's Cate Campbell on the final leg, with the Americans winning by 3.02 seconds.
Smith also set a world record of 57.57 on her opening 100 backstroke leg of the relay, about a half-second faster than the previous mark. She won the individual 200 back on Saturday and set a world record in that event in Friday's semifinals. She didn't qualify for worlds in the individual 100 back.
That record-setting opening leg "really pumped us all up" for the rest of the medley relay, Manuel said.
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Smith, 17, will swim in the U.S. Olympic trials next June to try to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She'll be a senior at Lakeville North High School this fall.
Manuel completed a sweep of the 50 and 100 freestyles at the world championships, the first American woman to achieve the feat. She won four golds and six medals overall in the eight-day competition.
In the 50 free, Manuel raced one length of the pool in 24.05. She held off Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who took silver in 24.07, and Campbell, who earned bronze in 24.11. In the 100 free, Manuel topped Campbell and Sjostrom finished third.
Manuel's other medals came in relays: gold in the 4x100 medley and mixed 4x100 free, and silvers in the 4x100 free and 4x200 free.
Meanwhile, American Caeleb Dressel won his record eighth medal at the world swimming championships Sunday, helping the U.S. to silver in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay after anchor Nathan Adrian got overtaken for gold in the closing meters.
"Part of me is very happy," Dressel said. "Part of me wants to cry that I'm done with it. I've got pimples on my face from just the stress of the meet. I'm probably losing some hair."
One night after becoming the first swimmer to win three golds in one night at a worlds for the second time, Dressel's haul included six golds at the biggest meet after the Olympics.
"It was a very tough week," he said. "I knew I was going to have to come with fire, passion and pride in every single race."
Two years ago in Hungary, Dressel tied Michael Phelps' record of seven golds at a single worlds, including three in one night.
Dressel hauled the U.S. from fourth to first on his butterfly leg with a split of 49.28 seconds. Adrian found himself in a three-way fight with Britain and Russia coming down the stretch.
Brit Duncan Scott surged ahead approaching the wall and got there first with a split of 46.14 to Adrian's 47.60.
"That last 15 meters, it's tough," Adrian said. "I was trying to be strong, I was trying to hold on, but this time I couldn't do it."
Luke Greenbank, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Scott took gold for Britain in 3 minutes, 28.10 seconds.
Ryan Murphy, Andrew Wilson, Dressel and Adrian finished in 3:28.45. It was just the second silver, and first since 1998, in an event the Americans have won 13 times.
"There's a time to get silver in relays and it's at a world championships, that's for sure," Adrian said.
Dressel's golds came in the 50 and 100 free, 50 and 100 butterfly, mixed 4x100 free relay and 4x100 free relay. His other silver was in the mixed 4x100 medley relay. He was named the FINA male swimmer of the meet.
"He's a phenomenal talent," South Africa's Chad le Clos said. "He seems to get better throughout the days."
The U.S. team finished atop the medals table with 27, including a leading 14 golds.
Australia was second with 19 and five golds.