{"id":501985,"date":"2022-04-04T08:59:48","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T15:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=501985"},"modified":"2022-04-04T08:59:48","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T15:59:48","slug":"claire-curzan-set-to-shine-at-trials-after-another-four-win-pro-series-in-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/claire-curzan-set-to-shine-at-trials-after-another-four-win-pro-series-in-san-antonio\/","title":{"rendered":"Claire Curzan Set to Shine at Trials After Another Four-Win Pro Series in San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Claire Curzan Set to Shine at Trials After Another Four-Win Pro Series in San Antonio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Less than one year ago, Claire Curzan<\/strong> arrived at her first Olympic Trials on an incredible hot streak. Curzan was already setting national high school records before the COVID-19 pandemic brought competitive swimming to a halt, but she returned in the fall of 2020 and began quickly crushing her lifetime-best marks. Had the 2020 Olympics gone as scheduled, Curzan may have had an outside chance at qualifying to represent the U.S., but she undoubtedly benefitted from the one-year delay.<\/p>\n

At her first Olympic Trials, Curzan finished second to fellow teenager Torri Huske<\/strong> in the 100 butterfly, touching out Kate Douglass<\/strong> by 0.13 while veteran Kelsi Dahlia<\/strong> ended up fourth. However, Curzan could not equal her best form at Trials, and after entering as a contender in the 100 backstroke and the sprint freestyles, she ended up not qualifying for another final the rest of the meet.<\/p>\n

In Tokyo, Curzan finished 10th in the 100 fly semifinals, more than a second off her best time. She ended up grabbing a silver medal later on after swimming on the U.S. women\u2019s 400 medley relay in prelims. Her Olympic debut was not perfect, but the setback turned out to be very temporary.<\/p>\n

At the Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi, Curzan captured six medals, including individual bronzes in the 50 fly and 100 fly<\/a>, and she was part of two gold-medal-winning U.S. relays. The winter short course yards season saw her lower the American record in the 100 fly<\/a> (since broken) and set a national high school record in the 100 back. She is admittedly not fond of the 200 fly, but at a Sectionals meet in March, she swam a 1:50.85 that was just six hundredths slower than the winning time in that event at the NCAA Championships<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And through the year\u2019s two stops on the TYR Pro Swim Series, she has been phenomenal, picking up four wins at each<\/a>. Her season-best times include a 56.89 in the 100 fly<\/a>, 24.43 in the 50 free, 53.68 in the 100 free, 58.73 in the 100 back and 2:07.31 in the 200 back. With just three weeks to go before the U.S. International Team Trials, Curzan ranks first in the country in all five events.<\/p>\n

With those times, Curzan is still slightly off her lifetime bests from last spring in the sprint freestyles and about seven tenths off in the 100 fly, but it\u2019s worth noting that she recorded all of those times while racing at local meets at her home pool in Cary, N.C., a completely different environment than against national-level competition at a Pro Series meet.<\/p>\n

For instance, in her 100 free victory in San Antonio Saturday evening<\/a>, Curzan touched four tenths ahead of a field that included Erika Brown<\/strong> and Natalie<\/strong> Hinds<\/strong>, both members of the U.S. women\u2019s bronze-medal-winning 400 free relay in Tokyo. The fourth-place swimmer in that race was Katie Ledecky<\/strong>, merely the top female swimmer of this generation.<\/p>\n

The more-laid-back format of this year\u2019s Trials sets up well for Curzan to try to earn a spot on the U.S. team for the Budapest World Championships in multiple events. Over the five day meet, she could race one or two events per day, with the 50s of stroke included, and she will not have to worry about semifinals at this meet. Curzan\u2019s schedule could include:<\/p>\n