US teen Regan Smith sets world record in women's 200 back
GWANGJU, SOUTH KOREA - JULY 26: Regan Smith of the United States celebrates as she sets a new world record of 2:03.35 after competing in the Women's 200m Backstroke Semifinal. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
GWANGJU, South Korea (AP) - Regan Smith of Lakeville, Minnesota broke the world record in the women's 200-meter backstroke Friday at the world swimming championships.
The 17-year-old American won her semifinal heat in 2 minutes, 3.35 seconds. That erased the old mark of 2:04.06 set by Missy Franklin at the 2012 London Olympics.
Smith lowered her own junior world record in the morning preliminaries, finishing in 2:06.01.
In the semifinals, she finished 3.22 seconds ahead of Kylie Masse of Canada, who was the second-fastest qualifier.
The final is Saturday night.
FOX 9 caught up Smith in 2017 after she qualified for Team USA at only 15 years old. Her Minnesota swim club, Riptide Swimming, congratulated her on breaking the world record.