Claire Curzan Matches World Junior Record In 100 Fly Semis – 55.64

2021 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, December 16th – Tuesday, December 21st
• Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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American Claire Curzan matched the existing World Junior Record in the women’s 100 butterfly semis during the penultimate finals session from the 2021 Short Course World Championships, clocking a time of 55.64 to advance second overall into Tuesday’s final.

Curzan’s time equals the WJR set by Belarusian Anastasiya Shkurdai last year during Season 2 of the International Swimming League (ISL).

That same time of 55.64 was produced twice by Japan’s Rikako Ikee when she was eligible to break WJRs, in December of 2016 and December of 2017 (when she was 16 and 17 years old, respectively), but was never ratified by FINA.

Curzan now ranks tied with Shkurdai for 16th-fastest of all-time in the event, and is also the #2 American in history. The fastest U.S. swimmer ever, Kelsi Dahlia, broke the world record earlier this month in the ISL Final in a time of 54.59.

Curzan, 17, came into the meet having limited experience in the race. She did get a tuneup in November when she broke the National High School Record in the event at a dual meet against the Baylor School in Tennessee.

On Monday, she recorded a time of 56.46 in the prelims to qualify second overall behind Sweden’s Louise Hansson.

In the semis, Canadian Maggie MacNeil won the first semi in 55.45 over Curzan, while Hansson was the only other swimmer in the field to crack 56 from the second heat (55.81).

Curzan’s preliminary time was just off of her best time in LCM, which stands at the 56.20 she produced in April of this year. A few months later she qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in the event, placing second at the Olympic Trials in a time of 56.43. She went on to place 10th individually in Tokyo, and added a silver medal as a member of the American women’s 400 medley relay prelim squad.

Shortly after the race, Curzan was back in the water in the women’s 50 free semis, clocking a time of 23.80 to advance sixth into the final. The WJR in that race also belongs to Shkurdai, who went 23.69 last December.

Curzan, who won’t be eligible to break WJRs beginning in 2022, also lowered the mark in the women’s 50 fly on Sunday, winning the bronze medal in what was also an American Record of 24.55.

The Stanford commit and current TAC Titans swimmer also won a gold medal on the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay and added a pair of silvers on the American women’s and mixed 4×50 medley relays.