Claire Curzan named USA TODAY High School Sports Awards Girls Athlete of the Year
Claire Curzan of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, was named the 2022 USA Today High School Sports Awards Girls Athlete of the Year during the online broadcast on July 31.
The USA Today High School Sports Awards is the largest high school sports recognition program in the country. Over 800 athletes were honored and winners for 29 sports and other special awards were announced during the live show, which was hosted by former NFL tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Vernon Davis.
Gronkowski surprised Curzan with the honor during a recent appearance on CBS Mornings:
In the next wave of teen swimming phenoms, Curzan is at the head of the class.
Still fresh off her first Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she won a silver medal with Team USA in the 4x100-meter-relay and placed 10th in the 100 butterfly at the age of 17, the sprint-distance star recently captured five gold medals at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Curzan was true to form at this year’s North Carolina High School state championship meet, hunting not state titles but national records. She lowered the nation’s high school standard in the 100 backstroke to 49.61 seconds, and added an overall American record in the 100 fly of 49.24 seconds. That performance made Curzan the second-fastest performer ever at that distance, behind only Maggie Mac Neil’s 100 fly time of 48.89 from last year’s NCAA championships. Curzan will get her own shot at the NCAAs when she joins the team at Stanford University this fall.
Following the wake of past Olympic swimming stars like Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky, Curzan will be a name to follow on Team USA for years to come — especially at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Earlier this year, Curzan was named a member of the All-USA Today HSSA Girls Swimming & Diving Team. She was named Girls Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Year during the show, in addition to her overall athlete honors. [[[Link to all winners story]]]
Curzan was one of three finalists for USA TODAY Girls Athlete of the Year, edging out Kiki Rice of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., and Juliette Whittaker of Mount De Sales Academy in Maryland.
Awards and accolades piled up for Rice during a brilliant senior season that included state and national titles in basketball and a second state title in soccer. Rice was honored as USA TODAY HSSA Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Whittaker threw down one of the best track and field seasons in Maryland’s high school history, earning a national record at the 800-meter distance and claiming four gold medals at the state championship meet. She was honored as USA TODAY HSSA Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Claire Curzan named USA TODAY HSSA Girls Athlete of the Year
