By Foss Swim School
Woman and Girls in Sports Day is recognized the first Wednesday in February each year – but FOSS is thrilled to be able to help girls develop their love of swimming all year round.
Regan Smith was a student at Foss Swim School and has become one of the top female swimmers in the world, with multiple world titles and records to go along with her eight Olympic medals, including two golds. While she values the opportunities she has been given, even she experienced challenges even as she rose to become one of the best in her sport. Today she hopes her story can provide inspiration for the next generation of female swimmers.
“I feel very grateful for the most part. Everyone in the swimming world has treated me with a lot of respect,” Regan said. “Unfortunately, I also have memories of teachers who didn’t take me or the fact that I was a swimmer seriously. Some were dismissive when I had to miss school for important swimming competitions in high school. To be looked at like that and not treated with the same respect that my male classmates would get, it was frustrating.”
A lesson in perseverance – and a desire to set an example
While Regan doesn’t carry bitterness, it has made her aware that even today women and girls have to overcome barriers – whether overt biases by authority figures or more subtle subconscious social pressures. In Regan’s experience, it helped make her more of an advocate for herself.
“It kind of helps to thicken your skin and learn to speak out if you feel like you are receiving unfair treatment,” Regan said. “I think it definitely helped me find my voice.”
Regan also found a welcoming community in swimming, where she feels female athletes have traditionally been taken seriously. “I think it’s probably just because female USA swimming has been such a powerhouse for so long,” she said. That tradition inspired and paved the way for her, and now Regan hopes to pay it forward.
“I just love being as fierce and as good of a role model as I can be,” she said. “I try to set a good example for young girls who might look up to me and hope to inspire them to keep swimming or doing any sport for that matter.”
Regan’s advice: Choose your own path
Women and Girls in Sports Day exists because not everyone feels equally supported in pursuing athletics, even though in the U.S. there is more support than ever before for women’s and girls’ sports in schools and communities.
For her part, Regan has some simple advice: “I would just encourage girls to really try to be strong with your morals and your passions. Keep doing what you like to do and don’t do things because other people want you to do them or expect you to do them.
“I just feel like I saw so many people during my time in the school system give up sports that they loved and that they were very, very talented at in elementary school,” she continued. “If your interests truly change, then that’s one thing. If it’s not your passion anymore, then don’t do it.
“But don’t give up something you love just because you kind of think it’s a societal standard, or because you’re getting pressure from your friend group, or if you think you won’t fit in if you continue to be more of a sports-oriented girl.”
Celebrating increased interest in women’s sports
Regan’s time as a top swimmer has coincided with an increased interest in women’s sports more broadly, including the WNBA and superstars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, women’s collegiate basketball, a new professional women’s hockey league and more.
“I feel like people used to laugh at professional women’s sports – that’s such disgusting behavior – but growing up that was just a thing,” she said. “People still make jokes like ‘you throw like a girl.’ But I feel like the best sports I’ve watched recently or heard of has been women’s sports. I was thinking about the Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson fight and how it was such a snooze fest compared to the female fight before it.”
Regan herself is a part of that moment thanks to the women’s swimming performance in Paris. “We were incredible and more than carried our weight,” she said. “I just feel like the women stay hungry. It’s been really nice and refreshing to see.”
