July 17--Olivia Smoliga went into the quadrennial Pan American Games hoping to boost her sagging morale.
The swimmer from Glenview may have accomplished that with her first performance.
Smoliga, 20, broke the Pan Am Games record in the 100-meter backstroke while winning her heat Friday morning in Toronto. The final is Friday night.
Her time, 1 minute, 00.35 seconds, was 2/100ths faster than the mark Rachel Bootsma of the United States set four years ago in Guadalajara, Mexico.
It was also Smoliga's second fastest time ever in the event, topped only by her 59.82 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, where she finished fourth.
"I've been so nervous and so jittery to get this first race out of the way," she said Friday. "I've been sitting around for a week. My heart (rate) was just so high before I jumped in.
"I know there are some things I can fix before tonight."
Beset by mononucelosis and the resulting psychological fallout from its effect on her swimming, Smoliga had not broken 1:01 in the 100 backstroke since 2013.
"The one thing I want to take away from it (the Pan Am Games) most is kind of a confidence boost," Smoliga told the Tribune's Pioneer Press newspaoers before the meet. "I really want to go in there and feel how I used to feel, when I used to travel and go to these big meets -- walk on deck with my head held high, and really just feel like I can do anything. That's the feeling that I want back."
Smoliga was a 2012 short course world champion in the 100 back and a 2014 NCAA champion in the 50 freestyle her freshman year at Georgia. She has struggled since then but made the Pan Am Games team with a fifth in the 100 back at last year's U.S. Championships.
The 100 back is her only individual event at the Pan Ams.
