2021 Swammy Awards: Age Group Swimmer of the Year – 15-16

To see all of our 2021 Swammy Awards, click here.

2021 Honorees: Claire Curzan and Daniel Diehl

Claire Curzan – TAC Titans (Cary, NC)

For the second year in a row, Claire Curzan of TAC Titans was the most dominant force in age group swimming among 15- and 16-year-old girls. In 2021, she lowered four of her own 15-16 National Age Group Records and broke a fifth -that was also a World Junior Record- and she led the nation in another four events before aging into the 17-18s. She took .01 off her SCY 50 free time, .15 off the SCY 100 back, .21 off the SCY 100 fly, and .41 off the LCM 100 fly. In the LCM 50 free, she first took a big bite out of Gretchen Walsh’s 2019 NAG of 24.71 in the morning with her prelims swim of 24.45, then dropped another .28 in finals to settle the mark at 24.17. That time was also faster than Rikako Ikee‘s World Junior Record of 24.33 from 2017, although Curzan’s swim was not ratified by FINA (likely owing to the absence of drug testing at the TAC Spring Invitational).

In addition to those four events, she produced the year’s top times in the SCY 100 free and 200 back and the LCM 50/100 free and 100 back. She #2 in the SCY 200 fly; #3 in the LCM 200 back; and #8 in the SCY 200 free.

She left the age group on June 30 with all-time SCY rankings of #1 in the 50/100 free and 100 back, #2 in the 200 back, #1 in the 100 fly, and #5 in the 200 fly. In LCM, she ranks 1st all-time in the 50/100 free, 100 back, and 100 fly and 13th in the 200 back.

While still 16, Curzan finished second in the 100m fly at Olympic Trials Wave II to earn a berth on the United States Olympic Team for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. There, she swam in semi-finals of the 100 fly, finishing 11th, and swam fly in the prelims of the 4×100 medley relay, for which she earned a silver medal.

Over the second half of the year, she notched eight top-10 times for 17-18 girls, ranking 2nd in the SCY 200 free and 100 fly and the LCM 100 fly; 4th in the SCY 100 free and 200 back; 6th in the SCY 200 fly; 7th in the SCY 50 free; and 8th in the SCY 100 back.

Runners-Up

Bella Sims and Katie Grimes – Sandpipers of Nevada (Las Vegas, NV)

Teammates Sims and Grimes also represented the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Mid-distance specialist Sims qualified for the U.S. team with a with a fifth-place finish in the 200 free at Trials, earning a spot on the 4×200 free relay for which she took home a silver medal. Longer-distance specialist Grimes finished second to Katie Ledecky in the 800 free at Trials, then swam the event in Tokyo where she finished fourth, just off the podium in the final.

In the 15-16 age group, Sims wrapped up 2021 ranked in the top-10 in fifteen events. She was #1 in the SCY 200/500 free and LCM 200 free; #2 in the SCY 1000/1650 free, 200 back, and 200/400 IM and the LCM 400/800/1500 free; #3 in the SCY 200 fly; #4 in the SCY 100 free; #5 in the SCY 100 fly; and #6 in the LCM 100 fly.

Grimes, who was still 15 all year, led the age group in the SCY 1000/1650 free and 400 IM and the LCM 800/1500 free katie and 400 IM. She was 2nd in the SCY 500 free; 3rd in the SCY 200 free; 4th in the SCY 200 IM; 5th in the LCM 200 IM; 6th in the SCY 200 back; and 7th in the LCM 400 free.

15-16 Boys

Daniel Diehl – Cumberland YMCA Sea Otters (Cumberland, MD)

Diehl was one of the most consistent performers in the 15-16s this year and he still the rest of the 2021-22 short course season and the 2022 long course season to improve his standings in the age group, having only turned 16 this fall. Diehl won the 100 free and the 200 free at Winter Juniors East, notching the #1 times in the nation for the year among 15-16 boys in both events. He also produced the top times in the LCM 50 free and 100 back. Diehl was #3 in the LCM 100 free; #4 in the SCY 50 free; #5 in the SCY 100 back and 200 IM; and #10 in the SCY 200 back and LCM 200 free and 200 IM.

With plenty of time to continue doing damage in the rankings, Diehl already hold all-time 15-16 SCY rankings of #19 in the 50 free, #7 in the 100 free, #2 in the 200 free, #17 in the 100 back, #59 in the 200 back, and #26 in the 200 IM. In long course meters, he is #13 all-time in the 50 free and #5 in the 100 back.

Runner-Up

Ilya Kharun – Sandpipers of Nevada (Las Vegas, NV)

Kharun broke the only individual National Age Group Record of the year for the boys 15-16 age category, taking down Luca Urlando’s mark in the 100 fly with a best-by-1.5-seconds 45.59 in the final of the 2021 Speedo Winter Junior Championships-West in December.

Kharun also swam the leading time of 2021 in the SCY 200 fly at the West meet, winning that event, too. But he wouldn’t be a Sandpiper if he couldn’t put in the yardage, so he was also #2 for the year in the SCY 1650 free; #3 in the SCY 100 free and LCM 100 fly; #5 in the SCY 500 free; #6 in the LCM 200 fly; and #10 in the SCY 50 free and 400 IM and LCM 1500 free and 400 IM.

Honorable Mention

• Will Modglin – Zionsville Swim Club-IN:

Modglin was only a member of the 15-16 age group for the first quarter of the year but her remained unsurpassed in the SCY 100 back for the rest of 2021. He showed his versatility by also remaining in the top-10 in a variety of events. He finished up #2 in the SCY 200 IM and LCM 100 back and 200 IM; #4 in the LCM 200 back; #5 in the SCY 100 breast and LCM 100 free and 100 fly; #8 in the SCY 100 fly; and #9 in the SCY 50/100 free.

• Cooper Lucas – Lakeside Aquatic Club-NT: Lucas was another versatile talent, wrapping up 2021 with ten top-10 swims for 15-16 boys in free, fly, and IM. He was #1 in the SCY 500 free and LCM 200 fly and 400 IM; #2 in the SCY 400 IM and LCM 200/400 free; #3 in the SCY 200 fly and LCM 200 IM; and #7 in the SCY 200 free and LCM 800 free.

Past Winners