{"id":441148,"date":"2020-08-01T08:53:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-01T15:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=441148"},"modified":"2020-08-02T10:21:13","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T17:21:13","slug":"tokyo-vision-regan-smith-aiming-to-continue-u-s-tradition-in-womens-200-backstroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tokyo-vision-regan-smith-aiming-to-continue-u-s-tradition-in-womens-200-backstroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Tokyo Vision: Regan Smith Aiming to Overwhelm Field in Women’s 200 Backstroke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tokyo Vision: Regan Smith Aiming to Overwhelm Field in Women’s 200 Backstroke<\/strong><\/p>\n

Had the COVID-19 pandemic not shaken the world, the\u00a02020 Olympic Games in Tokyo<\/a>\u00a0would be unfolding right now, titles and podium finishes earned by the finest athletes from around the world. Instead, we are in a competition lull and hopeful that the Games will be held next summer, with COVID-19 neutralized.<\/p>\n

As we reach the nine days over which the swimming competition of a delayed Olympiad would have taken place, Swimming World is taking a glimpse at what might have unfolded this summer, had the Olympics not been postponed. Following the official schedule, we offer our virtual fields of eight finalists for each event and take a brief look at how the racing might have panned out until a few strokes away from decision and a result that will not be known until July\/August 2021.<\/p>\n

League of Olympic Legends: Krisztina Egerszegi Tops 200 Backstroke Podium With Tanaka & Coventry<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Event:\u00a0<\/strong>Women’s 200 Backstroke
\nWorld Record:\u00a0<\/strong>Regan Smith, USA (2019) – 2:03.35<\/p>\n

Historical Note #1:\u00a0<\/strong>This event has been contested at every Olympics since 1968, when American Lillian Watson\u00a0<\/strong>won the first gold in Mexico City in 2:24.8 over Canada’s Elaine Tanner<\/strong> and USA’s\u00a0Kaye Hall<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Historical Note #2:\u00a0<\/strong>Hungary’s\u00a0Krisztina Egerszegi\u00a0<\/strong>is one of three swimmers to win the same event at the Olympics three times. She won her first gold as a tiny 14-year-old in Seoul in 1988 over two East Germans. She returned four years later in 1992 to win one of her three golds in Barcelona in 2:07.06, and won again in Atlanta in 1996 at 2:07.83. Egerszegi has the most individual Olympics gold medals of any female swimmer with five.<\/p>\n

Virtual Vision<\/h3>\n

The Finalists (Listed Alphabetically)<\/strong><\/p>\n