Claire Curzan Opens Up After Winning Three Golds at the Doha World Aquatic Championships

The 19-year-old multi-distance swimmer Claire Curzan is emerging as the face of Team USA in the 2024 World Aquatic Championships in Doha, Qatar. Driven by the desire to make up for missing the Fukuoka Championship last year, Curzan established herself as a young talent by winning two individual gold and a silver.

As the championship tournament draws closer to its end on the 18th, she seems to have no intention of slowing down. After her recent relay victory, she also became the highest prize recipient on 14 February. In an update shared from the podium, the swimming star shared her

Claire Curzan reflects on special win

Curzan won her first individual world title in the 100 backstroke, clocking a lifetime best of 58.29 seconds. She earned her second individual medal of the event, winning a silver medal in the 100 butterfly. Yesterday, the sophomore and Virginia alum Kate Douglass won a gold in the Mixed 4x100M Medley Relay in a three-swimmer team. In an Instagram video by @world_aquatics featuring yesterday’s podium finishers, Curzan said, “Really exciting, even more fun to do with this group of people and just happy to see Kate, Nic, and Hunter kill the rest of the meet.” 

Four individual world champions representing Team US in Doha and already leading the scoreboard with gold victory are Curzan in the butterfly, Kate Douglass in the freestyle, Nic Fink in the breaststroke, and Hunter Armstrong, who won the gold medal in the relay. After qualifying for the 50 Backstroke semifinal, Curzan is now set to compete in today’s final event.

With an outstanding record of six gold medals from the 2021(short course) and 2022 (short and long course) World Championships and eighteen medals overall, Curzan has already established herself as a veteran in the aquatic world despite being only 19.

After missing last year’s World Championship in June 2023, where she became ill right before the Team USA Swimming Trials, six months later, she is victorious in Doha, using her heartache as a springboard for even bigger successes.

At the top of the cash lineup

The financial stakes are quite high behind the scenes of this watery extravaganza. With a $2,730,000 total payout, the World Aquatics Championships 2024 offer participants $65,000 for each of the 42 events. With gold in the 100-meter backstroke, silver in the 100-meter butterfly, and a member of the winning 4×100-meter mixed medley team, Claire Curzan takes first place among all swimmers earning $37500.

New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather and Pan Zhanle of China are tied for second place with $35,000 each.

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Claire Curzan’s journey in Doha is the quest for success in addition to being a display of her swimming prowess. The world watches with interest as the aquatic championship goes on, wondering if Curzan will be able to maintain her success on the podium and in the prize money list.

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