Claire Curzan Smashes American, NCAA Records in 200 Backstroke at ACC Championships
For the third time in 16 months, Claire Curzan has recorded the fastest time ever in the women’s 200-yard backstroke. The University of Virginia standout posted personal best times in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke at the ACC Championships, putting on alert the record she set at last season’s NCAA Championships. Indeed, Curzan exceeded her previous record pace on three out of four 50-yard splits, and she walloped her previous top time by three-quarters of a second.
Curzan finished in 1:46.09, well clear of her previous record of 1:46.82. The most improvement came on the back half, with Curzan splitting 54.70 over the last four lengths of the pool. The splits:
- Curzan (March 2024): 24.89, 51.49 (26.60), 1:19.03 (27.54), 1:46.82 (27.79)
- Curzan (February 2025): 24.77, 51.39 (26.62), 1:18.62 (27.23), 1:46.09 (27.47)
The swim capped off an enormous week for Curzan after she became the fourth-fastest woman ever in the 100 fly and second-quickest all-time in the 100 back while also helping Virginia to wins in the 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. Curzan is among the key performers for a Virginia women’s team aiming for a record-setting sixth consecutive national title. Currently, the team has an enormous lead on the conference level, with 1167.5 points through the 200 back to crush the total of second-place Cal (904.5).
In the 200 back final, Curzan crushed the field by almost three seconds. NC State’s Erika Pelaez was the runnerup in 1:48.92 while Pitt’s Claire Jansen snuck under 1:50 to get third in 1:49.99. Leah Shackley, the World University Games gold medalist in the 200-meter back, ended up fourth in 1:50.36.
