Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based swimmer who has proven themselves over the past month. As with any item of recognition, Swimmer of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one athlete whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a swimmer who was visibly outperforming other swimmers over the month, or one whose accomplishments slipped through the cracks among other high-profile swims. If your favorite athlete wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Charlotte Crush has become accustomed to racing competition several years older than her, and it’s never been much of a problem.
The 15-year-old Lakeside Swim Team (KY) product raced in her third Winter Junior Championship – East in December, having debuted as a 13-year-old back in 2021 when she remarkably earned a runner-up finish in the 100 fly and a fourth-place finish in the 100 back despite going up against swimmers as old as 18.
After earning three podium finishes including a win in the 100 back as a 14-year-old in 2022, Crush continued her run of impressive swims at the 2023 edition in Columbus, earning her Ultra Swimmer of the Month honors.
Crush set lifetime bests in six events, with her standout swim of the meet coming in the 100 back, where she entered rarefied air by becoming the 10th swimmer ever under the 50-second barrier and just the third to do so as a junior (18 and under).
Crush put up a time of 49.53 leading off Lakeside’s 400 medley relay, shattering Claire Curzan‘s 15-16 National Age Group Record by half a second (50.03) and dropping nearly a second from her previous PB of 50.44.
Crush remarkably came within seven one-hundredths of Curzan’s NAG record in the 17-18 age group (49.46) and overtook Regan Smith (49.66) to rank #2 all-time among U.S. juniors.
U.S. Girls’ 15-18 100 Back (SCY) Rankings, All-Time
- Claire Curzan, 49.46 (2023)
- Charlotte Crush, 49.53 (2023)
- Regan Smith, 49.66 (2019)
- Phoebe Bacon, 50.39 (2021)
- Reilly Tiltmann, 50.42 (2022)
Crush went on to win the 100 back the following night with her second-fastest swim ever, 50.23, and added a trio of runner-up finishes in the 100 fly (50.46), 100 free (47.86) and 200 back (1:52.67 – 1:51.74 in prelims) over the course of the meet.
Both the 100 fly and 100 free represented new personal bests, with the 100 fly ranking #2 all-time in the 15-16 age group behind Curzan and the 100 free slotting in at seventh.
Crush also set best times in the 50 free (22.02), 200 free (1:47.40) and 200 IM (1:57.38) at the meet, and added another in the 50 back (23.32) leading off the 200 medley relay.
She was back in the water the day after the meet concluded, clocking a very solid 1:01.88 in the long course 100 back during a time trial session. Crush set her best time of 1:00.07 at the NCSA Summer Championships in late July.
Crush kept up her hectic calendar with another meet on Dec. 22, representing her high school, Sacred Heart Academy, at the “Girls Night Out” meet in Louisville where she cruised to a pair of wins in the 100 back and 50 fly.
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Congrats Charlotte and Family!