Top 5 American Women in 100 LCM Fly This Season Are All Teens Under 58.00

2021 PRO SWIM SERIES – SAN ANTONIO (MARCH)

Friday night was phenomenal for the women’s 100 meter butterfly. After 19-year-old Regan Smith posted a season-best 100 meter fly time of 57.88 at the San Antonio Pro Swim Series and Gretchen Walsh clocked a lifetime best 57.43 in Georgia, the top 5 American women in the event this season are all U.S. National Team members in their ‘teens with times under 58.00.

Top 5 American Women in the 100 LCM Fly During 2020-2021

  1. Claire Curzan, 16 years old – 56.61
  2. Torri Huske, 18 years old – 57.36
  3. *Kate Douglass, 19 years old – 57.43
  4. *Gretchen Walsh, 18 years old – 57.43
  5. Regan Smith, 19 years old – 57.88

Claire Curzan has been at the top of the all-time fastest 100 flyers per age group since age 12 where her time is still the 2nd fastest time ever swam by an 11-12 year-old. Since then, she has broken the National Age Group Record in the event for 13-14 year-olds and 15-16 year-olds. While Smith competed at the long course Pro Swim Series on Friday, Curzan bested her own short course yards 100 fly NAG in North Carolina (49.51).

 Torri Huske‘s 100 fly journey began at age 15 when she clocked a 53.3 100 yard fly. Before she aged up to 17-18, Huske posted a 51.29 which still is the 3rd fastest 100 fly swam by an American 15-16 year-old ever. Huske has been on fire lately, breaking the National High School Records in the 200 yard IM (1:53.73) and 100 yard fly (49.95) with 27 minutes of rest in between swims. Her season-best long course time (57.36) is from the November 2020 U.S. Open in Richmond where Kate Douglass also posted her season-best 100 fly time (57.43).

Douglass has specialized across events and strokes. This collegiate season at the University of Virginia, Douglass is the top-ranked swimmer in the NCAA in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 IM, and 200 breast. The only swimmer ahead of her in the 100 yard fly is Michigan’s Maggie Macneil of Canada who is the fastest woman tin the NCAA to ever swim the event. But in long course, Douglass is now tied with Walsh as the 7th fastest 100 butterflyer in the world this season.

Walsh was ranked #1 on  SwimSwam’s List of Way Too Early NCAA Recruit Ranks for the girl’s high school class of 2021, mainly for her sprint free, 100 back, and 200 free times. She first cracked the top 100 all-time fastest 100 fly times in an age group in 2017, ranked #72 in the 13-14 age group (1:01.80). By 2019, she leaped up to #9 all-time in the 15-16 age group (58.84), about one-third of a second behind #7, Smith. Now, she sits tied with Douglass’ 17-18 age group time as the 3rd all-time fastest 100 butterflyer in her current age group.

The most recent addition to the 100 meter fly Olympic hopeful mix is backstroke World Record-holder Regan Smith. She has been at the top in the 200 fly (as well as both backstroke events) for a lot longer than she has in the 100 fly. As a 15-16 year old Smith became the 2nd all-time fastest in the 200 fly in her age group. In March 2020 she posted her lifetime best 200 meter fly 2:06.39 which is currently the all-time fastest swim in the age group.

Her progress in the 100 fly has been more gradual. At the same time she was #2 in the 200, she was ranked #7 in the 100 in the 15-16 age group. Then, Smith leaped from #7 all-time as an 15-16 year-old to #1 all-time as a 17-18 year-old in the 100 meter fly with what is still her lifetime best (57.34). Currently, the top 3 all-time fastest 100 fly times in the 17-18 age group are an inverse of this season’s world rankings, lead by Smith, then Douglass tied with Walsh, then Huske.

Among world rankings, Douglass and Walsh are the newest additions to the top 25. Last year, 2016 Olympic relay medalist Kelsi Dahlia was #5, Smith was #6, Huske was #8, and Curzan was #16. 26-year-old Dahlia raced Smith in the 100 fly on Friday at the Pro Swim Series, taking 2nd place with a time of 58.48 which ranks her #22 in the world and #6 in the nation this season.

This 100 fly lineup has unique significance as we get closer and closer to the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in early June where we will surely see these four women vying for a spot on Team USA. For perspective, Kelsi Worrell and Dana Vollmer made the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team in this event with finals times of 56.48 and 57.21, respectively. The youngest swimmer in that final was Cassidy Bayer who was 16 years old at the time and finished 4th (58.35).

Top 15 Fastest Women in the 100 LCM Fly This Season in the World

2020-2021 LCM Women 100 Fly

2Zhang
Yufei
CHN55.6209/29
3Torri
Huske
USA55.6606/14
4Emma
McKeon
AUS55.7207/25
5Marie
Wattel
FRA56.1607/24
6Sarah
Sjostrom
SWE56.1807/24
7Claire
Curzan
USA56.2004/10
8Louise
Hansson
SWE56.2207/25
9Kate
Douglass
USA56.5606/14
9Kelsi
Dahlia
USA56.5606/13
11Anastasiya
Shkurdai
BLR56.9907/24
12Brianna
Throssell
AUS57.1106/12
13Anna
Ntountounaki
GRE57.2507/24
14Lana
Pudar
BIH57.3703/12
View Top 26»

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Michael Mooney
2 years ago

Why isn’t Maggie McNeal in Trials on fly. 100??

Emerson
Reply to  Michael Mooney
2 years ago

She’s canadian.

Joy
3 years ago

Can we cut to the chase? The programs with explicit focus on working underwaters are producing top tier results in their most talented athletes and solid results in their average athletes. Those programs that don’t work underwaters in age group have mediocre or marginal results.

Anonymous
3 years ago

Wave #2 of the Phelps effect + Wave #1 of the Ledecky effect.

BDL swim
3 years ago

This is shaping up to be one of the most exciting women’s races at trials, along with the 100 back and 200 IM. I don’t think Dahlia makes it – too much young talent surging right now.

I wish this depth and quality could transfer to the 200 fly, which is a snoozefest both domestically and internationally…

Aquajosh
Reply to  BDL swim
3 years ago

I have a feeling Charlotte Hook is going to surprise a lot of people at Trials in the 200 fly.

Hswimmer
3 years ago

Wow. Dahlia is really going to have to be in top form to make the team. She has a relay shot and that’s about it. 57 won’t make it this year I believe. Crazy they are all under 20 years old.

About Annika Johnson

Annika Johnson

Annika came into the sport competitively at age eight, following in the footsteps of her twin sister and older brother. The sibling rivalry was further fueled when all three began focusing on distance freestyle, forcing the family to buy two lap counters. Annika is a three-time Futures finalist in the 200 …

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