Italian Record-Holder and Sprint Star Sara Curtis Commits to University of Virginia
This past week, Sara Curtis stood out as the premier swimmer at the Italian Championships in Riccione, establishing national records in the 50-meter freestyle and 100 freestyle, in addition to winning the 50 backstroke. On Friday morning, Curtis announced that she will begin her collegiate career in the United States in the fall, having committed to the University of Virginia and coach Todd DeSorbo.
Curtis announced her decision on her Instagram account.
Curtis is one of the world’s rising stars in the sprint events and will be joining a program that recently won its fifth consecutive NCAA team championship. Curtis will not only provide an immediate spark in her individual events, she’ll strengthen the Cavaliers’ relays in a major way. Her addition comes at a time when the Cavs say goodbye to the Walsh sister – Alex and Gretchen – whose time with the UVA program was program-defining.
At the Italian Championships, Curtis first set a national record in the 100 freestyle, as her time of 53.01 bettered the 2016 Italian record of 53.18, set by Federica Pellegrini. Curtis then set a pair of national records in the 50 freestyle, first going 24.52 in the prelims and following with a swim of 24.43 in the finals.
Curtis will represent Italy at this summer’s World Championships in Singapore. She competed at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, where she advanced to the semifinals of the 50 freestyle. She is also a gold medalist from the European Junior Championships.
