16-year-old Claire Curzan of the TAC Titans in Cary, North Carolina raced a 21.51 50 free SCY at her team’s intrasquad meet on Friday night, reported first by Swim Swam News. Curzan’s swim, if sanctioned, would count as a national age group record, breaking her own mark of 21.77 from Junior Nationals in December. This was Curzan’s first swim meet since Speedo Sectionals in March.
USA Swimming had indicated that although swim meets will be allowed to be held if the clubs complied with social distancing guidelines, that times would not be sanctioned. But that rule has since been lifted starting in the month of August.
Claire Curzan was swimming in the final heat of the 2-hour session, as the only girl in the heat. TAC Titans live-streamed the meet, and the announcer can be heard in the background calling for each heat to report to the blocks, with no more than two heats back there at all times. Holding swim meets in an indoor pool during the COVID pandemic may cause some parents to get nervous, but video evidence (as shown below) that all timers were wearing masks and even some swimmers stretching behind the blocks were doing so as well. Races were done in mixed fashion.
Claire Curzan just finished her sophomore year of high school at Cardinal Gibbons in North Carolina as she is one of the top recruits in the class of 2022. She is coming off a season where she briefly held the national high school record in the 100 backstroke, only for it to being broken a few hours later. She did break the 100 butterfly national high school record this season, and will likely swim that race again this weekend at her club’s time trial. Curzan swims for coach Bruce Marchionda at the TAC Titans, the former head coach at Western Kentucky University.
15-16 Women’s 50 Free All-Time Rankings:
- 21.77, Claire Curzan, 2019
- 21.82, Gretchen Walsh, 2018
- 21.95, Torri Huske, 2019
- 22.04, Simone Manuel, 2013
- 22.04, Kate Douglass, 2016
Claire Curzan’s swim came in the very last heat of the session. The TAC Titans will be continuing their intrasquad meet all weekend.
Stacy Skeen Kirkpatrick Jill Massie-Braun Karen Thor Bland Spencer Royer Jacqueline Rader WOW!
Jeanri Buys
Wow! Ronald Crothers
I swim for the TITANS
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Pass the Geritol. Tim Riley Randy Greenfield Daniel Ferrari John Lambert
Mike Ferrari in 1968, I placed 17th in the NCAA championships with that time. Now 16 year old girls in their sophomore year of high school are doing the same. Thanks so much for sharing
John Lambert
John Lambert not to worry. You can handle her 100 fly time from last year, right?
John Lambert of course her backstroke isnt far behind her fly.
Mike Ferrari nice!!!!
..I still do 21.5 tho ??
Pretty soon they will be doing that in meters!
Mark Rivas
Darryl Gouveia yea I saw this but yet those dumb ones think you have to be over 25 to go to the Olympic Games
Darryl Gouveia look at the age eh not27 Katie one Olympic gold at age 15 800 free ,we going to get there even tho it is yards
Mark Rivas she also swam 50 in a 100 fly
Darryl Gouveia when you have a coach who knows what they doing anything it possible
CONGRATS !!!
https://youtu.be/WryyI-8YzqM
Kim Pfarrer DiJoseph dammmmm!!!
Luke Johnson
Wow!
Evidence that the break helped the kids? More rest, better nutrition? A study will follow for sure. Way to go girl!
Christie Thomas our coaches used it as a way to work on the basics. My 14 year old went back to practice the last week in May. They started out only working on freestyle and slowly added strokes in, they just started fly last week. The head coach was super positive about everything and I think that makes a huge difference!
Nice to see meets happening! These kids deserve the opportunity to race.
Honestly no judgement here but are you guys following social distance protocol or throwing caution to the wind?
That’s insane! Nice job!!!
Do it lady, congratulation