Smoliga claimed third place in the women’s 100 meter backstroke with a time of 58.91 seconds. Canadian swimmer Kylie Masse came in first place with 58.60 seconds, and Australian swimmer Minna Atherton finished in second place with 58.85 seconds.
Fellow American swimmer Kathleen Baker came in sixth place with 59.56 seconds. Baker holds the world record in this event with 58.00 seconds.
This bronze medal marks Smoliga’s first career individual medal in a long course pool on the world championships level.
On winning the bronze medal, Smoliga remarked, “I am really excited and really happy. I think I wanted it to be faster. I’ve been faster this past year, but it’s so different when you go to meets like these.”
Smoliga acknowledged that the crowd was “huge” and she feels that it worked to her benefit. “I could hear them the last 20 meters, so I used that to my advantage the best I could,” she said.
She added that she has been working on her back half. “That was kind of to be controlled, built into the turn, just push that back half. We work on back half 50s all the time and that’s just what I try to do,” she explained.
In other Olivia Smoliga news, she will be competing for the Cali Condors in the new International Swimming League (ISL), where Olympian Jason Lezak serves as General Manager.
