Hundreds of athletes traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to race in the Olympic trials for Team USA Swimming for a chance to compete in Paris. Pitt Swimming’s Claire Jansen made the same journey for the opportunity to represent her country at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games.
Jansen has already cemented herself as one of Pitt’s strongest swimmers. After only her sophomore year as a Panther, Jansen was one of three Pitt swimmers who competed at the Olympic Trials.
“It was surreal,” Jansen said. “To be in a football stadium that was converted into a pool was super cool. To be at the Olympic Trials and meet all these Olympians that I looked up to my entire life was cool also. Just to have the chance to be around them was amazing.”
Jansen loves to swim backstroke, and she dominates when she does. In high school, Jansen earned all-state honors in the event. In Jansen’s first year at Pitt, she smashed the school record at the ACC Championships with a time of 52.35 and broke that record at the UGA Last Chance Qualifier with a time of 52.33. With that time, Jansen became the first Pitt first-year swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships since 2006.
“100 back is my favorite event,” Jansen said. “I like everything that I’m good at. I swim a little bit of sprint freestyle and in relays too, but I just don’t do breaststroke or butterfly.”
Jansen opened her sophomore season at Pitt with a first-place finish in the 100-meter backstroke at Army, then followed that up with a second-place finish against California. Jansen ranked 23rd in the nation after a 52.15 in the 100 back at the Minnesota Invitational. After a couple of more victories in subsequent meets, Jansen earned first place and broke the school record with a 52.06 time at the UGA Last Chance meet.
With all of her experience in the event, she came into the trials with the momentum needed for a personal record — and she succeeded.
“That was my best time,” Jansen said. “It was a drop of around .1 or .2. It was great to see I dropped time. That was my goal going into the meet. You never know what is going to happen going into a big meet. I was just excited to be there.”
Jansen’s consistent improvement in her backstroke has made her a star for the Panthers, but Jansen says she is more surprised at her success than anyone else.
“It was very surprising,” Jansen said. “I didn’t choose to go into college swimming until my junior year of high school because I didn’t even swim club. Most people start club around 8 years old, but I had a coach come up to me and tell me I could go to college for this. Each step has been very surprising, but I’ve built up so much confidence coming to Pitt and have learned so much from everyone here.”
Jansen added how Pitt beat out Pennsylvania rival Penn State in her recruiting process.
“The last two schools I was choosing between were Pitt and Penn State. I got into recruiting late, but it worked out because Pitt offered me a spot, and [I] had to choose Pitt over Penn State.”
Jansen ultimately took her talents to Oakland, and she was awarded the 2023 Pitt Newcomer of the Year award. Jansen is already looking forward to what Panther swimming will look like in the next few years.
“All the upperclassmen have paved the way for us. I’m excited to keep their role going and fill their shoes.”
Jansen did not make Team USA for the upcoming Olympics. But that has not stopped her from looking towards enjoying the swimming that is to come.
“We have a meet coming up in California. We go every summer, and it’s a super fun meet,” Jansen said. “You have to qualify to go, so it’s a super small group of us, and I’m really excited. We also get to swim outdoors. Right now I’m back in the pool training for that before the college season starts again.”
As far as Jansen’s fellow Panthers, she can not thank them enough.
“I want to thank all of them,” Jansen said. “Sophie [Yendell] is going to be a fifth-year senior, so she already has a big role, but she is really going to be a leader for us this next year. I loved all our first-years, but I think Sydney Gring is going to step up this year and is going to do a lot of good things.”
Outside of the pool, Jansen is still focused on studying for her pre-physician assistant track and working as a signature event and donor relations intern for Pitt Script for Life. Jansen also makes sure to keep her family close.
“My family keeps me grounded,” Jansen said. “My dad is the biggest swimming fan. He keeps me excited and keeps me loving the sport.”
Although she has already accomplished her goal of competing and dropping time at the Olympic Trials, Jansen can easily reflect on where she came from and where she wants to go.
“I think I’ve definitely grown since I got to Pitt. I did water polo before I chose swimming. It was a big transition, but it flowed nicely. I’ve learned from every experience and the people I’ve met along the way. From my first year to now I think our team has grown a lot,” Jansen said. “I find a lot of my motivation for swimming through my team and the girls I swim with. Through this year especially, we’ve gotten a lot closer and more supportive of each other.”