Tennessee Invitational: Claire Curzan Shatters American Record in 200 Back, First Ever Under 1:47
In the 16 months since transferring to the University of Virginia, Claire Curzan has been working to return to her best times while many of her UVA teammates have have wracked up medals on the international level. But Friday evening at the Tennessee Invitational, Curzan not only returned to her best in the 200-yard backstroke but also posted the best performance of her career, swimming the fastest time ever.
Curzan blasted a time of 1:46.87 in the event, beating the previous American and U.S. Open records in the event by three tenths. Regan Smith swam a time of 1:47.16 in 2019 that stood for five-and-a-half years atop the all-time race, and the NCAA record previously belonged to Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson at 1:47.24. But Curzan made quick work of that time as she became the first swimmer ever under 1:47.
Entering the season, Curzan ranked fourth all-time in the event at 1:47.43, and she was the 2023 NCAA champion in the event while swimming for Stanford.
In long course, Curzan has gravitated more toward backstroke in recent years, winning the long course world title in all three distances at the lightly-attended World Championships in February, but she missed narrowly the Olympic team in the 200-meter race, finishing seven hundredths behind runnerup Phoebe Bacon. Notably, in this record-breaking swim, Curzan annihilated Bacon’s winning time from last year’s NCAA Championships (1:48.23) by almost one-and-a-half seconds.
Gretchen Walsh, who swam the fastest-time ever in the 100 butterfly one night earlier, helped set the pace before fading down the stretch. Walsh still finished second to Curzan in 1:48.18, also surpassing last year’s NCAA-title-winning time while moving up to No. 9 all-time in the event. Tennessee’s Sophie Brinson took third (1:53.20).
Splits Comparison:
- Curzan: 25.22, 51.99 (26.77), 1:19.29 (27.30), 1:46.87 (27.58)
- Smith: 25.05, 51.54 (26.49), 1:19.13 (27.59), 1:47.16 (28.03)
- Nelson: 25.24, 52.44 (27.20), 1:19.88 (27.44), 1:47.24 (27.36)
- Walsh: 24.69, 51.56 (26.87), 1:19.36 (27.80), 1:48.18 (28.82)
In the next women’s event, the 100 freestyle, Tennessee sophomore Camille Spink and Virginia freshman Anna Moesch each reached 46-second territory, with Spink touching in 46.61 for the win and Moesch coming in just behind at 46.76. Only four swimmers broke 47 at last year’s NCAA Championships, but three of them have graduated, leaving Spink and Moesch in position to seriously contend for placings in this event this year, even if Walsh remains the big favorite with her all-time top mark of 44.83 while 100-meter free Olympic silver medalist Torri Huske is returning to the college scene.
At the end of the session, Virginia assembled an all-star squad to take a run at the NCAA record in the 400 free relay, although they fell about a second short in 3:06.93. After Curzan led off in 46.98, Walsh split 45.24 on the second leg, the third-fastest split ever behind two of her own efforts from last season. Moesch and Aimee Canny finished off the race in 3:06.93, almost two seconds faster than any non-Virginia team swam last season.
Canny finished almost four seconds ahead of freshman teammate Leah Hayes in the one-on-one final of the women’s 200 breaststroke, touching in 2:06.70 to Hayes’ time of 2:10.66, while in a separate heat, Tennessee’s McKenzie Siroky clocked 2:08.17 to beat out tie between Virginia’s Emma Weber and Kentucky’s Bridget Engel (2:10.11).
Virginia’s Tess Howley finished atop the 200 butterfly in 1:54.06, followed by Tennessee’s Sara Stotler (1:54.82), but the fastest time of the night actually belonged to the Lady Vols’ Emily Brown, who touched in 1:53.91. Lizzy Kaye won platform diving with a score of 243.00, beating Kentucky’s Claire McDaniels (223.95) and Tennessee’s Maddie Reese (223.45).