By Foss Swim School
What comes after you reach a life goal? For Regan Smith, the answer is twofold (and might seem contradictory): More goals, and a chance to not think about goals at all.
The U.S. Olympic swimmer and Foss Swim School alumna spent years of her life and countless hours in the pool preparing for the Olympic games in Paris in the summer of 2024, and FOSS was lucky to have the chance to follow her journey and share her story. The Games were a resounding success, with Regan winning five medals – two golds on relay teams and two silvers and a bronze in individual events.
“Having that gold medal around my neck, it was indescribable,” Regan said. “All of my teammates [in the women’s 4×100 medley relay] had won gold medals before. Finally I got my chance to stand up on that podium. I feel really content.” But contentment doesn’t put out the fire of her natural competitiveness: “The ultimate is to win a gold medal in an individual event.”
While the drive remains, Regan also said that the past few years, and the year leading up to Paris in particular, have given her a new and healthier relationship with swimming – which can also be good for performance. “I’ve worked a lot on recognizing I am so much more than a swimmer. Win or lose, I am the same person. Doing that set me free from expectations. It allowed me to swim freely.”
After the Olympics, a chance to relax – and set a new world record
Following the stress of the Olympics, and in accordance with her focus on life beyond swimming, Regan has been taking some time off.
“I think after having to be so structured, not see friends for months, and having every second planned out, I wanted to not have structure,” she said. She vacationed with friends, spent time with family, and agreed with her coach to take a break. “I plan to ride that wave until January. I’m still filling my time because I like being a busy bee, but I choose what to do.”
In that spirit, she decided to swim in a meet in Singapore in November. “It was an opportunity to go goof around for a couple weeks. I wasn’t taking it seriously. I went with my best friend – we enjoy touring,” she said. “I was training, but not seriously. I was skipping sessions.”
So naturally, Regan posted a world-record time in the 200 meter backstroke: 1:58.83, beating the previous world record by .11 seconds. “The beautiful thing is, when you truly don’t care, it allows you to relax and end up performing really, really well.”
Lessons from an amazing year
The value of taking a break and de-stressing was just one of the lessons Regan took from her multi-year Olympic journey. She reflected on many of the things that have shaped her perspective and attitude.
- Gratitude: “People think the Olympics are magic, and athletes are royalty,” she said. The reality was different. Accommodations were sparse and uncomfortable, and athletes have little time to enjoy the sights. But coming together with people from around the world made her grateful – both for the blessings she enjoys, and for the chance to share the experience with thousands of athletes, many of whom were having literally the best time of their lives.
- Resilience: The year before the Olympics was a trying time, personally and competitively. “The theme of resilience was a constant for the past year,” Regan said. “I experienced a lot of things that rocked the boat. I moved to Texas, left my friends in Arizona, lived out of suitcases, got sick. It was a great test of how mentally tough I can be.” Nonetheless, she found the grit and developed approaches that helped her win through.
- Focus: One key approach was narrowing her focus. “I love thinking ahead, but I had to actually take it one day at a time,” she said. “It’s a cliché, but I never really knew what it meant.” For her, it meant turning away from the big picture at times. “I need to attack life in smaller increments. How can I drink enough water today? How can I have a good breakfast? Can I try hard in practice today? One hour at a time, one task at a time. Don’t move ahead of where you are.”
- Pride: “You can get numb to success and feel like ‘this isn’t enough,’ and think ‘I was this close to gold three times,’” Regan reflected. “This year, I was able to sit back and feel proud of myself. I’m achieving things 8-year-old me could never have imagined.”
The year ahead will see Regan return to training and attending the full slate of international competition, with one eye towards the 2028 Olympics. The lessons of the past year, she says, will help her on that journey.
“There’s a fine line between staying hungry and never being satisfied,” Regan said. “I am in control of my thoughts. I am going to choose to be happy and content. It’s so freeing. I’m always going to be a pretty self-motivated person. I won’t end up complacent. But I never again want to leave a meet and feel like that was terrible.”
