Senior - 2018-19
Finished the 200 free in 1:49.38 at the Ivy League Championships, her best performance of the season and the fifth-best among her teammates ... Competed in the 500 free at the Hall of Fame Invitational and posted a season-best mark of 4:51.30, good for sixth on the team ... Swam her fastest 100 free in the double-dual meet vs. Brown and Penn, posting a time of 53.11, which was the 11th-best effort on the team ... Posted the squad''s fourth-fastest 400 IM of the season (4:24.28) at the Hall of Fame Invite ... Swam on various relays throughout the year (200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 400 medley).
Junior - 2017-18
Registered three personal bests in the 400 IM (4:20.21), 500 freestyle (4:49.89), and 200 butterfly (2:01.55) at the Ivy League Championship ... Placed third in the 200 butterfly (2:05.86) against Brown and Penn ... Seventh in the B-final of the 400 IM (4:22.10) at the Texas Invitational ... Won the 200 butterfly (2:07.39) against Cornell ... Finished third in the 200 freestyle (5:04.10) and fifth in the 400 IM (4:33.20) against Columbia.
Sophomore - 2016-17
Finished third in the 500 free and fifth in the 200 butterfly at H-Y-P … Finished third in the ‘B’ final of the 400 IM and fifth in the 200 fly of the ‘B’ final at the Ivy League Championship meet … Third in the 500 free and fourth in the 200 fly against Columbia … Fourth in the 200 fly against Cornell and Dartmouth.
Freshman - 2015-16
Finished fifth in the 100 fly (59.49) and ninth in the 1000 free (10:37.78) against Cornell and Dartmouth … Earned fourth in the 200 fly against Columbia and fifth in the 400 IM … Took in the 500 free (4:54.75) and ninth in the 200 fly (2:04.17) at the Hawkeye Invitational … Had Harvard’s fourth-fastest time of the year in the 400 IM (4:22.02) at the Hawkeye Invitational … Claimed fifth in the 200 butterfly (2:07.85) and seventh in the 500 free (5:06.59) against Brown and Penn.
Before Harvard
Top Times:
200 free: 1:48.3
500 free: 4:48.98
1000 free: 10:02.66
200 IM (LCM): 2:20.39
Claire Pinson showed she can compete with the best, as she was a consolation finalist (200 free) at Winter Junior Nationals 2014, with a 12th place overall finish. She was top nationally ranked 15-16 800 LCM FR-R (8:19.32) (4th for 15-18) and was fourth at the 2014 Summer Junior Nationals as a lead off.
She comes to Harvard ranked 15th nationally in the 15-18 400 LCM MR (4:18.95) as the free anchor, and 15th nationally in the 15-18 800 SCY FR-R (7:20.31). Pinson took eighth place (400 SCY MR free anchor) and fourth place (400 SCY FR-R anchor) at Winter Junior Nationals. Additionally, Pinson was a bonus and D finalist at Mesa Arena Pro Swim Series and a D finalist at Santa Clara Grand Prix, before being named a High School All American qualifier. To top it off, she placed second for Sac-Joaquin High School section in Varsity 200 free, 500 free, 200 IM.
Outside of swimming, Pinson enjoys singing, writing poetry, learning the piano, and studying languages and foreign culture. She is actively heading a cultural exchange with her club swim team, DART, and the Watermates Swim Team of Yokohama, Japan. She is a Scholastic All American recipient, a Sac-Joaquin Section Dale Lackey Scholarship recipient, and a three-time high school swim team captain.
"I chose Harvard because I fell in love with HWSD, Cambridge, and the school," Pinson said. "I couldn''t see myself going anywhere else. The atmosphere of the campus is so inviting. I know that I will be pushed to be my very best by all the people around me. Harvard''s academics are unrivaled and I know I am going be a part of a swim team that going places and doing incredible things. I''m so excited to see where HWSD will take me- I''m ready to be challenged, work hard, and reach my full potential."
