2022 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, December 13 to Sunday, December 18, 2022
- Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre, Melbourne, Australia
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American Claire Curzan has scratched out of the final in the 100 fly on Sunday evening, the final session of the 2022 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships, but that doesn’t mean she’ll get a break.
Curzan will still have at least one, and probably two, other swims on the day: the women’s 200 back final and the women’s 400 medley relay final.
Curzan finished 5th in the semi-finals of the women’s 100 fly in 56.37. That swim was 1.1 seconds behind her American and Stanford teammate Torri Huske (55.23) as the fastest time in the semis.
Curzan won a bronze medal in the event at last year’s World Championships, swimming a new World Junior Record of 55.39 in the process.
But as she has turned her focus more-and-more toward butterfly races in the last year, she will instead concentrate her efforts on the 200 back final. In that event, she is the top qualifier in 2:02.05. She will be chased in finals by a loaded field that includes the #3 performer all-time in long course Kaylee McKeown and Canadian Record holder Kylie Masse.
It took 2:02.20 to medal in the event last year (Masse won silver in 2:02.07).
The irony is that the 100 fly would have been considered Curzan’s best event for most of her career, while the 200 backstroke is not an event she was scheduled to swim until days before the meet. Curzan added that race to her schedule when defending champion Rhyan White pulled out of the meet with an illness just days before it began.
Japan’s Ai Soma will be pulled into the final of the 100 fly instead after a 56.51 in the semifinals. Her lifetime best is 56.31.
On paper, Curzan should be on the American 400 medley relay in finals, though she wasn’t used on the 200 medley relay. Given that Alex Walsh, Kate Douglass, and Erika Brown were used on the prelims relay, that seems to point at Curzan going somewhere in finals – likely the backstroke leg based on meet results so far. She was the top-finishing American backstroker in the 100m final, tying for 3rd place.
Smart decision. Better chance of medaling in this event while preserving her just a bit for that relay
Claire Curzan has proven to be better at the backstroke events than the butterfly events on the international stage.
Wondering how much of this was her decision vs an influence from the coaching staff. Too bad Doug can’t swim the 100 fly and claim her third individual title and take a shot at the WR. With her split on the relay this morning she should have a shot at the WR in the future. Really hope ISL comes back. She would be elite at that!
For the relay, again, team player. Claire is a boss.
Imagine being this fast as this many disciplines
US women are fortunate right now that there are so many multi-talented (at least 3 strokes in world class times) young top world class women – Douglas, Walsh(x2), Huske, Smith, Curzan, Sims, Grimes – with more youth rising up behind them. In 3 years the US women will own every LC/SC relay record.
Indeed but the Oz women keep reloading with young talent as well.
Australian women sprinters say hello.