Claire Curzan Swims Lifetime Bests in 100 Fly (50.03) and 100 Back (51.01)

TAC Titans Intrasquad Time Trial

• July 17-19, 2020
• Triangle Aquatic Center, Cary, North Carolina
• 25y (SCY) pool
• Live Stream
• Results on Meet Mobile: “TAC TITANS July Intrasquad Meet”

16-year old Claire Curzan has backed up her new personal best of 21.51 in the 50 free on Friday with another new best swim in the 100 fly on Saturday.

Swimming in a heat with 7 males, Curzan posted a 50.03 in the event on Saturday evening in the Triangle Aquatic Center pool. That improved her best time of 50.35 that she swam at the North Carolina High School State Championships in early February.

At just 16-years old, this now makes her the 7th-best performer in the history of the event, just one spot behind 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin.

All-Time Top Performers, Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly

1. (TIE) Louise Hansson, 2019/Maggie MacNeil, 2019 – 49.26
3. Erika Brown, 2020 – 49.38
4. Kelsi Dahlia (Worrell), 2016 – 49.43
5. Katie McLaughlin, 2019 – 49.97
6. Natalie Coughlin, 2002 – 50.01
7. Claire Curzan, 2020 – 50.03
8. Farida Osman, 2017 – 50.05
9. Rachel Komisark, 2007 – 50.10
10. Olivia Bray, 2019 – 50.19

Her old best time of 50.35 in the 100 fly is the National Age Group Record in the event. There has still been no confirmation from USA Swimming as to whether these swims will be accepted as National Age Group Records after she also swam under her 15-16 National Age Group Record in the 50 free on Friday. While the meet is sanctioned, USA Swimming has said that they won’t accept times for qualifications beyond the LSC level, though there’s still an open question about what will happen with National Age Group Records swum during this period.

There is a further question about the swim and its eligibility for records because it was raced in a co-ed heat.

She was the second-best finisher in total, behind only 17-year old Russell Exum. Exum swam 49.56, which was better than his previous best time of 49.74, which like Curzan’s was done at the North Carolina HS State Championship meet. Exum is a yet-uncommitted (publicly) rising high school senior.

Curzan also raced to a best time in the women’s 100 back on Saturday evening, swimming 51.01. That swim came after her 100 fly. Her previous best time in the 100 back was 51.23 from a Sectionals meet in March of 2019.

Curzan is scheduled to swim the 100 free and 200 fly on Sunday.

Other Top Finishers on Friday Evening

• 16-year old Lance Norris swam a best time to top the boys’ 200 free in 1:40.07. That knocked almost four-tenths of a second off his previous fastest swim. He was in a dead heat with Braeden Haughey (1:40.31) at the halfway mark before a big third 50 pulled Norris away. Norris has 4 lifetime bests in 4 swims so far at this meet, including a 4:24.19 in the 500 free, 1:50.81 in the 200 IM, and 49.69 in the 100 back. That 100 back swim, also on Saturday, was the fastest in the field.
• 28-year old Colombian Jorge Murillo, a 2016 Olympian, topped the 100 breaststroke in 53.23. While most of his focus of racing in his recent career has been in long course, that time is just .02 seconds away from his lifetime best. The top junior finisher in that event was Michael Cotter in 57.27, which exactly matched his best time.
• 15-year old Samantha Armand was the top female finisher in the 100 breaststroke, swimming 1:05.62.