By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam
American star Regan Smith is still planning to enroll at Stanford for the upcoming school year despite the Olympic postponement, she told SwimSwam.
The world record holder – SwimSwam’s top recruit of the past decade– announced her commitment in June 2019 and was previously slated to start college after presumably making her first Olympic team this summer. Historically, a handful of others in her position, including former Cardinal team member Katie Ledecky in 2016, have opted to take an Olympic redshirt and defer their freshman seasons by a year.
The plan, of course, is pending the re-opening of campus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it’s time that I take the next step in my swimming career and head to college,” Smith, 18, wrote in an email. “I feel pretty lucky because my coach Mike [Paratto] and coach Greg [Meehan] have a very trusting relationship and they have worked wonderfully together. I think my training will be fantastic no matter which of those two I train under. I’m in good hands and even though I’ll be training under Greg in the future, Mike will still be an important piece of what I’m doing.”
Since her summer 2019 breakout, amid NCAA amateurism discussions, Smith has been touted as an obvious benefactor should the association allow student-athletes to profit from their performances. She earned about $140,000 at the 2019 FINA World Championships, including $67,500 in world record bonuses, but could only keep about $41,000 under current rules, according to Yahoo Sports.
Last week, the NCAA announced it would move to “modernize” its policies by the 2021-22 school year by allowing student-athletes to earn compensation based on their names, images, and likenesses (including from social media, personal businesses and personal appearances, provided they fall under a set of guiding principles established by the board). While that policy wouldn’t apply to prize money as of now, it could lead to longer college careers for athletes like Smith who might otherwise turn pro early.
Smith has long maintained that she values the college experience over the ability to earn money in the immediate future, but with the news, says she would be excited to have both.
“There’s been rumors about change swirling for a while now but I’m really hoping that the change is solidified in the next year or two,” Smith said. “I have always wanted to become a professional swimmer but I’ve wanted to be a part of a collegiate team more so that’s my priority right now. Having the opportunity to do both would be amazing.”
Read the full story on SwimSwam: World Record Holder Regan Smith Still Set for Fall 2020 Stanford Enrollment