SILVER LININGS Wake County athletes Claire Curzan and Andrew Capobianco brought home much more than hardware from the Tokyo Olympics
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n the wake of the Tokyo Olympic games, athletes return home and are greeted by a rush of excitement involving celebrations and homecoming parties. For many of them, once the dust—or glitter—settles, training resumes. Plans take shape for future competitions, and they get back at it. We talked with two local Olympians who brought home much more than silver medals from Tokyo—and who may not be done competing just yet.
CLAIRE CURZAN Claire Curzan didn’t have much time to bask in the afterglow of the Tokyo Olympics. After returning home, the Car y swimmer spent a week at the beach with her family, but by mid-August, she was back at Cardinal Gibbons High School for the start of her senior year. “Things around me are settling down, but I’m still pretty excited about the whole experience,” she says. Curzan has good reason. She was part of the women’s 4-by-100-meter medley relay, swimming the butterfly leg in the preliminar y round to qualify the U.S. for the finals. But because the prelims involve two swimmers per stroke, the 17-yearold was sidelined for the finals by virtue of having the slower time in her stroke. Instead, she watched from the stands as her teammates clinched the silver medal for the relay team. “I would have rather been swimming,” Curzan says with a laugh. “It’s so hard to watch because you feel so out of control. I knew the girls were going to do well for us, but I couldn’t watch for a lot of it because I was so ner vous.” The medley relay was just part of her Olympic experience. Curzan competed individually in the 100-meter butterfly and placed 10th at 57.42 seconds. “Looking back on it now, I’m super proud of myself,”
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BY KURT DUSTERBERG she says. “It was my first Olympics. For any kind of first-time experience, there’s going to be some of that hardship or difficulty. I’m glad I was able to experience it this time. I’m learning a lot about it and, hopefully, I’ll be able to use what I’m learning to make myself better.” Curzan has been making a name for herself in the pool for years. After taking her first swim lessons at age 3, she began swimming year-round at age 7. She started making waves at age 12 when she had her first national age group record at an Ohio State meet. In 2020, her time of 56.61 at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships in Greensboro wasn’t just a personal best, it was also just .63 seconds off the American record. “I wish there was something I could pinpoint, but I don’t think there’s a magical sauce for swimming,” she says. “Like any sport, you have to put in a lot of training, so I guess the better quality training for me—running and working on heart muscles—helped my endurance. But I think I’ve had a lot of body awareness since I did dance when I was little. I think that’s lent itself to my swimming.” The days since the Olympics have given Curzan a chance to enjoy the spotlight, as well as share her success with others. Brixx Wood Fired Pizza in Car y hosted an evening for the public to come meet the hometown Olympian. “Ever yone does want to see the medal,” she says. “I kind of love sharing that because I know if I hadn’t gone to the Olympics, it wouldn’t be ver y common to see one in ever yday life. So I tr y to show it to as many people as I can, to have them hold it. It’s heavier than you would think.” Even back at school, there are little moments that remind Claire of her newfound celebrity. “Ever yone’s kept it
pretty much on the down-low, which has been nice,” she says. “Occasionally I hear through the hallways, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s Claire!’ and it makes me smile. It’s really cute.” Curzan tries to maintain a normal teenage life, but her training at Triangle Aquatic Center sometimes requires a bit of accommodation. Cardinal Gibbons High School modified her first period schedule last year so she could train in the morning before joining classes in time for second period. “They’ve been really good about making sure that I’m getting the classes that I need, but also having a social life and being able to train when I want to,” she says. Like most young, elite athletes, Curzan has had to find a balance between training and enjoying her teenage years. “Anyone at my level does have to make some sacrifices, but my friends are super supportive of it, so they understand if I can’t go to their house one night,” she says. “I tr y my best over the weekends, when I have the most time, to go hang out with ever yone.” Curzan is turning her focus to college now, pursuing Stanford University and the University of Virginia, two schools with outstanding NCAA swimming programs. But as she takes aim on the collegiate record books, she will keep one eye on qualifying for the Paris Olympics in 2024. “I’ve heard that people who qualify [once] put more pressure on themselves the next time. I don’t want to do that,” Curzan says. “I would love to make another Olympic team. We will just have to see what happens in three years.”
