'She knows she's representing something bigger than herself': Triangle's Claire Curzan primed to compete in Tokyo Games
Posted July 23, 2021 6:44 a.m. EDT
Updated July 24, 2021 7:55 a.m. EDT
Cary, N.C. — Claire Curzan has been swimming since she was three years old.
The past few years the Cardinal Gibbons High School swimmer trained at Triangle Aquatics Center (TAC) fine-tuning her strokes. Curzan is heading in as one of the youngest athletes to compete on the global stage.
The hard work has paid off, as she’s just hours away from putting all of her skills to the test.
On Saturday, the Cardinal Gibbons Senior will compete in the 100-meter-butterfly at the Tokyo Games. The qualifying heats begin at 6:25 a.m. The semifinals start at 9:40 p.m.
Her coach, Bruce Marchionda, says Claire's early success is the result of her hard work at TAC and never giving up.
"To be there and be part of it and watch her climb out of the water and come directly over to us and high fives and hugs and to feel like 'I helped her reach her goal' is just a huge sense of pride," Marchionda said.
Marchionda has trained other Olympians and knows the responsibility that comes with competing for your country.
"She knows she is representing something bigger than herself," Marchionda said.
The coach said that when the Olympics were postponed last year, Curzan took the year to focus on one day getting to Tokyo.
In June, Curzan finished second in the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The top two finishers in the race punched a ticket to Tokyo.
In three seasons at Cardinal Gibbons, Curzan has won six state championships and has been named the MVP of the championship meet twice. She was named Girls Swimmer of the Year at the HighSchoolOT Honors on Thursday night.
