Brooks Curry
Brooks Vaughn Curry is an American competitive swimmer. He is an Olympian and a gold medalist in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, he won the NCAA title in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, swimming the anchor leg of the relay in both the prelims and the final, a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter mixed freestyle relay, swimming in the final, and placed fifth in the 100-meter freestyle.
Background
Curry currently attends and swims collegiately in NCAA competition for Louisiana State University. He started competing for the school's swim team, the LSU Tigers, in the fall of 2019.2021: Relay international debut
Collegiate championships
At the 2021 Southeastern Conference, SEC, Championships in Columbia, Missouri in February, Curry was one of three athletes to swim the 50-yard freestyle in less than 19 seconds in the prelims heats, finishing in a personal best time of 18.97 seconds. The following month, at the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, he placed seventh in the final of the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 41.99 seconds after swimming a personal best time of 41.77 seconds in the prelims heats.2020 US Olympic Trials
Curry qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, placing fourth at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials with a time of 48.19 seconds. In addition to competing in the 100-meter freestyle at the year's Olympic Trials, he also competed in the 50-meter freestyle where he tied for ninth place overall with a personal best time of 22.08 seconds in the semifinals. His time in the 100-meter freestyle was fast enough for him to make the 2021—2022 US National Team roster in the event.2020 Summer Olympics
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Curry raced for the U.S. Olympic swim team in the preliminary heats of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay alongside Zach Apple, Bowe Becker, and Blake Pieroni. In the final, Caeleb Dressel was substituted in his place and the relay won the gold medal. Curry was the first swimmer from the Louisiana State University athletics program, called the LSU Tigers, to win a gold medal at an Olympic Games in swimming. He was also the first swimmer from the program since the 2000 Summer Olympics to compete in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at an Olympic Games. After the medals were handed out at the medal ceremony, Dressel tossed his gold medal to Curry, who was watching from the stands, as a demonstration of his gratitude for Curry's contribution to the victory. While Curry's performance on the prelims relay and involvement in the finals relay's medal ceremony hit a certain sentimental note with the American press, they did not warrant him being included in the relay's nomination from the USA Swimming Foundation for their 2021 Golden Goggle Award for "Relay Performance of the Year" as only the finals relay swimmers received that honor.Collegiate season beginnings
Once the collegiate season started up again following the 2020 Olympic Games, Curry swam a 19.51 in the 50-yard freestyle for his team, the LSU Tigers, in a dual meet against the Grand Canyon Antelopes on October 9, setting a new pool record for the LSU Natatorium and helping his team win the meet. His win contributed to the LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers winning a total of 23 swimming events in the dual meet. A little under two weeks later on October 21, Curry swam an unofficial personal best time of approximately 18.65 seconds, plus or minus five hundredths of a second, during practice. One day later, on October 22, Curry won the 50-yard freestyle for his school with a time of 19.59 seconds at the Rocky Mountain Invitational in which LSU competed against three other collegiate teams. The next day of the invitational, Curry won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43.91 seconds. In addition to his two individual events, Curry also swam on the first-place finishing 4×50-yard medley relay, splitting 19.16 for the freestyle leg, the second-place finishing 4×100-yard freestyle relay, splitting a 42.89 for the third leg of the rely, the first-place finishing 4×100-yard medley relay, swimming a 43.73 for the anchoring leg of the relay, and the second-place finishing 4×50-yard freestyle relay, splitting a 19.89 for the lead-off leg of the relay. His performances helped his school win each of the three dual meets taking place as part of the two-day Rocky Mountain Invitational where his team competed against the Denver Pioneers, Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls, and Air Force Falcons.In a dual meet against the Alabama Crimson Tide in early November, Curry won all three of his individual events for LSU, swimming a 19.95 in the 50-yard freestyle, 43.98 in the 100-yard freestyle, and 1:34.27 in the 200-yard freestyle. On November 17, the first day of the 2021 Art Adamson Invitational, Curry lowered his official personal best time for the season in the 50-yard freestyle in the prelims with a swim of 19.14 seconds. In the final later the same day, Curry cut 0.05 seconds off his time from the prelims to win the event in 19.09 seconds. In the 100-yard backstroke on November 18, Curry dropped 1.62 seconds from his previous best time of 48.66 seconds by swimming a 47.04 in the prelims. The third and final day of the Invitational, Curry swam a season best time of 42.86 seconds in the prelims of the 100-yard freestyle. In the final of the 100-yard freestyle in the evening, Curry won the event with a new season best time of 42.30 seconds.