The Week That Was, Sponsored by Suitmate
The Week That Was featured another stellar performance from Claire Curzan, highlights from DII championships, Erica Sullivan speaking out, and more.
The Week That Was #1: Claire Curzan Swims 1:50 200 Fly for NAG Record in Cary; Coleman Stewart Scorches 43.70 100 Back
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Within the past 18 months, teenager Claire Curzan has become one of the best in the nation in the sprint butterfly races. She qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in the 100-meter fly, and just last month, she broke the American record in the short course 100-yard fly. Now, she has shown off some skills in the 200-yard butterfly as well, as she swam a time of 1:50.85 in the event at a Sectionals meet in Cary, N.C.
Curzan was out in 52.37 at the halfway point, which was more than a second faster than Ella Eastin’s American-record pace (53.51). The 17-year-old Curzan remained more than a half-second up on record pace with 50 yards to go, but she fell off slightly down the stretch. She ended up finishing with a mark that made her the seventh-fastest woman in history, trailing the decorated group of Eastin, Regan Smith, Elaine Breeden, Louise Hansson, Kelsi Dahlia and Grace Oglesby. Curzan also broke Eastin’s National Age Group record of 1:51.04 that she set in 2016.
The Week That Was #2: NCAA Division II Championships: Alex Kunert Wins Third 200 Fly Title; Ward Lockhart Scores Second Win of Meet
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The Queens men lead the team standings by more than 80 points at the NCAA Division II Championships, but Drury continues to lurk after finishing just 30 points behind Queens at last year’s meet. On Friday, Queens captured two individual wins, from Finn Howard in the 100 backstroke and Alex Kunert in the 200 butterfly, and Kunert’s national title was his third in the event after previously winning in 2019 and 2021 (while the 2020 national meet was cancelled). Queens had a lead of 85.5 points by the end of the night after winning the 800 freestyle relay for a third relay win this week.
The Week That Was #3: Erica Sullivan Shares Thoughts on Lia Thomas: ‘I Just Feel Bad For Her’
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
At the women’s NCAA Championships next week in Atlanta, transgender woman Lia Thomas will be the top seed and favorite in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle races. Few of her national competitors have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Thomas so far. The only significant statement came from Stanford fifth-year swimmer Brooke Forde, who said that she would not have a problem racing Thomas in the 500 free at NCAAs.
Now, another key swimmer who will race against Thomas in the 500 free at NCAAs, Texas freshman Erica Sullivan, has shared an opinion. Sullivan was a U.S. Olympian in 2021, and she captured the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 1500-meter free. With her performances, Sullivan became the first openly-lesbian swimmer to qualify for a U.S. Olympic team and then to win an Olympic medal.
The Week That Was #4: Ben Titley Appointed Head Coach Of Sant Cugat Training Centre As Part Of Team-Spain Elite
Photo Courtesy: Vaughn Ridley/Swimming Canada
Ben Titley will swap Toronto for Barcelona after being appointed head coach of the Sant Cugat National Training Centre.
The Briton started his coaching career at the Loughborough ITC before moving to Canada’s high-performance centre in Toronto, where he oversaw the likes of 2016 Olympic free champion Penny Oleksiak.
Now he is set to join national performance director Sean Kelly in Spain to boost the high-performance programme as part of the project ‘Team Spain Elite’ which runs through until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Week That Was #5: Andrew Seliskar Announces Retirement After Competing in Tokyo Olympics
Andrew Seliskar. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Longtime U.S. national team standout Andrew Seliskar has announced that he is retiring from competitive swimming. Seliskar first emerged during his years with the Nation’s Capital Swim Club, and he was named Swimming World’s Male High School Swimmer of the Year in 2015. He was an impact performer for the California Golden Bears from 2015 through 2019 before qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team in 2021.
In an Instagram post Tuesday afternoon, Seliskar wrote, “Swimming has given me so much. I’m honored to have represented Team USA, and fortunate to have been surrounded by so many incredible people during my time competing in the sport. I was lucky to be in the right place, at the right time; To be a part of teams across the country who pushed me everyday in the water. The coaches and teammates I’ve had have influenced my life well beyond the pool, and I will always thankful for that.”