Claire Curzan Raced 1600 Meters Over 19 Swims At Short Course Worlds

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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Claire Curzan took on an incredibly daunting schedule at the Short Course World Championships.

Already scheduled to be the busiest female swimmer on the U.S. roster with five entries coming into the meet, Curzan added the 200 backstroke to her lineup at the last minute after Rhyan White was forced to pull out of the competition due to an undisclosed illness.

That left Curzan with entries in six individual events, and versatility across the 50 and 100 free, back and fly made her an easy option to slot into any number of relays for the Americans.

Given how loaded her individual schedule was, the 18-year-old Stanford freshman was held out of some relays where the U.S. had the depth to do so. Curzan didn’t swim on any mixed relays, and also didn’t race a single relay prelim.

Despite that, her total still accumulated to 19 swims in six days—averaging more than three per day—and 1600 meters total in the competition pool.

CURZAN’S SCHEDULE IN MELBOURNE

Day 1 Prelims (150 meters)

• Women’s 100 Backstroke Prelims – 56.90 (9th)
• Women’s 50 Butterfly Prelims – 25.43 (11th)

Day 1 Finals (250 meters)

• Women’s 50 Butterfly Semi-finals – 24.96 (6th)
• Women’s 100 Backstroke Semi-finals – 56.08 (3rd)
• Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay – 51.59 split (2nd)

Day 2 Prelims (0 meters)

• Off

Day 2 Finals (150 meters)

• Women’s 100 Backstroke Final – 55.74 (3rd)
• Women’s 50 Butterfly Final – 24.92 (5th)

Day 3 Prelims (50 meters)

• Women’s 50 Backstroke Prelims – 26.07 (4th)

Day 3 Finals (100 meters)

• Women’s 50 Backstroke Semi-finals – 25.60 (1st)
• Women’s 4×50 Freestyle Relay – 23.30 split (1st)

Day 4 Prelims (50 meters)

• Women’s 50 Freestyle Prelims – 24.17 (10th)

Day 4 Finals (100 meters)

• Women’s 50 Backstroke Final – 25.54 (2nd)
• Women’s 50 Freestyle Semi-finals – 24.22 (12th)

Day 5 Prelims (100 meters)

• Women’s 100 Butterfly Prelims – 56.90 (10th)

Day 5 Finals (150 meters)

• Women’s 200 Medley Relay – 25.75 50 BK (2nd)
• Women’s 100 Butterfly Semi-finals – 56.37 (5th)

Day 6 Prelims (200 meters)

• Women’s 200 Backstroke Prelims – 2:02.05 (1st)

Day 6 Finals (300 meters)

• Women’s 100 Butterfly Final – Scratched
• Women’s 200 Backstroke Final – 2:00.53 (2nd)
• Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay – 56.47 100 BK (1st)

This total included Curzan scratching out of the final of the women’s 100 fly in favor of the 200 back, and with a tight turnaround after winning silver in the 50 back, missing the final of the 50 free.

Having 4×50 relays on the schedule caused her cumulative total to increase a tad, though the numbers could’ve been even higher had she been used on the mixed relays.

The TAC Titan product finished the meet with seven medals, including two relay golds and three individual trips to the podium in the 50 back (silver), 100 back (bronze) and 200 back (silver).

Short Course Worlds is a good competition to experiment at, but at some point, it would be prudent for Curzan to narrow her focus, at least in terms of which races she’s keying in on for events like the Olympics and Long Course World Championships.

The 100 fly has always been her bread and butter, and her backstroking ability has clearly taken off over the last year. Not only was it the stroke in which she won all of her individual medals in, but she also swam nation-leading times in the NCAA in both the 100 and 200-yard back at the Wolfpack Invite last month.

Curzan will remain a relay contributor for the U.S. women moving forward in freestyle, but if she is to pursue backstroke moving forward, perhaps the 50 and/or 100 free will be dropped from her primary schedule.