Kaylee McKeown defends gold, beats Regan Smith in 100m backstroke

NANTERRE, France -- Australian Kaylee McKeown is back on top of the 100-meter backstroke -- beating out world record holder, American Regan Smith, in what has become one of swimming's best rivalries.

McKeown, 23, defended her title from Tokyo with an Olympic record with 57.33 ahead of Smith's time of 57.66. Smith's U.S. teammate Katharine Berkoff won bronze to give the Americans two more medals Tuesday.

Smith, 22, had set the world record at the U.S. trials last month -- a mark that previously belonged to McKeown -- and came into Tuesday with the fastest time in qualifying. The two have traded that record back and forth twice since 2019.

When they finished the race, Smith reached over the lane to congratulate McKeown.

"Other people's performances are completely out of my control," Smith said. "Kaylee is one of one. She is absolutely incredibly racer and she knows what to do when it matters. But I'm really proud of myself. I'm proud that I was able to drop [my time] from semis, that's something that I've struggled with a lot in the past. I stayed in my own lane, I executed my race plan, and I left it all in the pool."

McKeown pinpointed exactly what her plan was in a post-match interview.

"You wait for that moment so much, then you get to the race and you finish the race and I can't even remember it now," McKeown said. "But I knew it would come down to the last 25 meters. That's something I've been practicing for and something the Americans are really good at, finishing races strong. So, it was going to be whoever had it in those last five, 10 meters."

Smith -- who won two silvers and a bronze at her first Olympics in Tokyo 2021 -- was only speaking of positives Tuesday. As she walked away from the pool, she put her arm around Berkoff, and both were all smiles.

"I love her so much," Smith said. "She's one of my closest friends."

Smith, a Minnesota native, has spoken openly about the mental struggles of dealing with pressure and celebrity as a teenage phenomenon on the swimming circuit. During this Olympic cycle, she worked with the famed Bob Bowman (best known as Michael Phelps coach). Bowman is an assistant coach for France but still consults with a number of other swimmers.

Now, Smith said she is only looking forward. She still has two more individual events to go in Paris and could compete in the women's medley relay.