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The long-anticipated announcement of where Claire Curzan will spend the next four years is here:
I am thrilled to finally announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Stanford University! I could not of done this without my amazing coaches, teammates, and educators, and the endless support from my family and friends. I’m truly blessed and can’t wait to join the farm!! #fearthetree🌲❤️
Curzan is a senior Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. She swims club with TAC Titans and is the number one recruit from the high school class of 2022.
That gives Stanford the top-two recruits in the class (Curzan and #2 Charlotte Hook), as well as #7 Lucy Bell, #15 Kayla Wilson, #17 Sophie Duncan, and unranked but listed in the honorable mention or “Best of the Rest” sections, Natalie Mannion, Gigi Johnson, and Kirsti McEnroe.
Curzan is a superlative swimmer across the board, but really stands out in sprint free, back, and fly. She is already fast enough to score in the A finals of six individual events (100/200 fly, 100/200 back, 50/100 free) at NCAAs, exactly twice the number she would be allowed to swim. That kind of flexibility will allow head coach Greg Meehan to use her wherever they need the most points. Considering that Stanford will also have current World Record-holder in the 200 back and former WR holder in the 100 back, Regan Smith, and current American Record-holder in the 100 butterfly, Torri Huske, by the time Curzan gets to campus, that will give Meehan all kinds of options.
Curzan can do it all, though. She broke Smith’s 15/16 NAG in the 100 back and she is the third-fastest American performer of any age in history in the 100 fly. Her 49.51 is the 8th-fastest performance, and with a 49.73 as well, she owns two of the top-15 performances of all-time.
| Rank | Athlete | 100 Fly | Nationality | Meet | Date |
| 1 | Maggie MacNeil | 48.89 | CAN | 2021 NCAA DI Women’s Swimming | 3/18/2021 |
| 2 | Louise Hansson | 49.26 | SWE | 2019 NCAA DI – Women | 3/21/2019 |
| 2 | Maggie MacNeil | 49.26 | CAN | Minnesota Invite 2019 | 12/5/2019 |
| 4 | Louise Hansson | 49.34 | SWE | 2019 PAC 12 Champs women | 2/28/2019 |
| 5 | Erika Brown | 49.38 | USA | 2020 SEC Champs | 2/19/2020 |
| 6 | Maggie MacNeil | 49.42 | CAN | 2020 B1G 10 Champs women | 2/20/2020 |
| 7 | Kelsi Dahlia | 49.43 | USA | 2016 NCAA DI – Women | 3/17/2016 |
| 8 | Claire Curzan | 49.51 | USA | 2021 NC TAC ESSZ SC Sectional | 3/3/2021 |
In LCM, Curzan is also the third-fastest American 100 flyer in history. She earned that distinction at Olympic Trials with a 56.20 in prelims. She went on to finish second in the final with 56.43, earning a berth on the U.S. Olympic Team. In Tokyo, she swam the fly leg in prelims of the women’s 4×100 medley relay and earned a silver medal when the Americans came in second in the final.
Having just turned 17 on June 30, Curzan hasn’t yet begun her assault on the 17/18 NAG Record books, but in the last four-and-a-half years, she has amassed ten individual NAGs:
- SCY NAG Records – 11/12: 50/100 fly; 13/14: 50/100 free, 100 fly; 50/100 free, 100 back 100 fly
- LCM NAG Records – 11/12: 50 fly; 13/14: 100 fly; 15/16: 100 fly
Best SCY times:
- 100 fly – 49.51
- 100 back – 50.03
- 200 back – 1:49.35
- 50 free – 21.50
- 100 free – 47.23
- 200 free – 1:45.47
- 200 fly – 1:53.59
- 200 IM – 1:58.87
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