Regan Smith proved her mettle in the Olympic pool at the París La Défense Arena earlier this year. In fact, the 22-year-old left the French capital with five shiny pieces of hardware in tow. However, she wasn’t the only one. Her compatriot, Kate Douglass, had a successful stint in Paris, clinching four medals in front of a raucous crowd. It’s safe to say that with this, the duo have left an indelible mark on the sport. Yet, they’re surely not done just yet.

The duo eventually grew fond of each other by swimming and training together, even cheering each other on at competitions. Even though they had a stellar time in the French capital, the swimmers locked horns at the recently concluded 2024 World Aquatic Swimming World Cup. With three tantalizing stops, the meet had everything. Yet, one of the most interesting rivalries of the meet—but how do the Olympians feel about it?

Regan Smith spills the beans on the after-effects of the World Cup

On the final day of the World Cup in Singapore, Kate Douglass was crowned the overall champion of the meet. What about her compatriot? The swimmer trailed behind her compatriot with a .01 difference. On November 10, the duo appeared for a casual sit-down chat with SwimSwam’s Coleman Hodge. Even though the competition concluded earlier this month, the host couldn’t help but ask the swimmers if this ordeal had affected their friendship. “I tried to knock her out before that two back,” Douglass stated in jest. 

While Regan Smith and Douglass joked about their rivalry, the swimmer did reveal some wishful thinking on her part. On the third day in Singapore, the 22-year-old returned to the pool for the 200m backstroke. While she stunned the crowds by demolishing the world record, the swimmer wished for a different outcome. “When I touched the wall on the two back, um, I knew that it wasn’t enough for us to tie. So immediately upon looking at the board, I was like, ‘God dang it.’ That would have been so fun,” she confessed. 

What tie was she referring to? Both the swimmers were on a winning streak since the first stop in Shanghai. However, Smith was still trailing behind Douglass as the competition entered the final day. In the 200m backstroke, the Olympian touched the wall in 1:58.83, obliterating Kaylee McKeown’s 1:58.94 set in 2020. She hoped that this would result in a tie on the leaderboard. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be.

Kate Douglass clinched the World Cup title with 178.5 points on the table. On the other hand, Regan Smith was still trailing behind with 178.4 points. When Hodges asked the duo if this changed their dynamics, they answered his question with a playfight. Douglass affirmed that they weren’t on talking terms, while Smith mentioned that they got into a physical fight on the bus. However, what did the duo truly feel about the standings? 

The duo have been nothing but supportive of each other

The Olympian opened up about how the competition had been nothing but fun for both of them. “I remember on the bus on the way to Singapore for the last day of competition, for the two back, you like texted me, didn’t you?” Even though the world believed they were battling it out, Kate Douglass cheered her on, hoping she broke the world record. 

Why, you ask? She wanted them to end the meeting in a tie as well. Even Regan Smith was pumped. “I knew that, like, in order to tie or beat Kate, I had to break the world record, and I was like, ‘F**k, okay, I got to go tonight.'” However, she eventually realized that it would all be for naught. If they did tie in the overall, whoever had the most Aqua points would be crowned the winner.

“Kate would have gotten it in the two breasts regardless, but yeah,” the 22-year-old confessed. While breaking records isn’t unusual for the Olympian, it isn’t a walk in the park either. In Singapore, she first broke the 100m backstroke record. Yet she had a concerning confession to make. While she was glad she improved her time from Incheon, it wasn’t as painful as this one. The swimmer admitted that her legs were screaming. 

In hindsight, it isn’t as surprising. Regan Smith bagged five medals at the Olympics and resumed training for the World Cups. Maybe the intense training finally took a toll on her. However, she didn’t let any of that show when she touched the wall in 54.27 seconds. In fact, her time shaved off 0.14 seconds from the time in Incheon. Even though she had an incredible stint, Smith and Douglass haven’t let the final results affect their friendship.