Sara Curtis Blasts Another Italian Record in 50 Freestyle
The climb to world-class status has been steady for Sara Curtis, who has established herself as the prime hope for global excellence among Italian female swimmers.
She collected four medals at the 2022 World Junior Championships, including a silver-medal in the 50-meter freestyle. There were six medals for the teenager at last year’s European Juniors, highlighted by solo titles in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 50 backstroke. And there was an appearance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where Curtis advanced to the semifinals of the 50 freestyle.
This week’s Italian Championships in Riccione have provided Curtis with her latest opportunity to showcase her talent, and she has fully embraced being a headliner. On Wednesday, Curtis set a pair of national records in the 50 freestyle. She first clocked a mark of 24.52 during the preliminary heats, and then followed up with an even better performance during the championship final.
At night, Curtis blasted a mark of 24.43 to cap a sensational day in the pool. Not only did Curtis slice another .09 off her morning record, she finished a half-second ahead of Costanza Cocconcelli, who was timed in 24.98. Curtis’ new record is the fastest time in the world for 2025 and will send the 18-year-old to this summer’s World Championships in Singapore with promise.
Heading into the final of the 50 freestyle, Curtis had already claimed titles in the 50 backstroke and 100 freestyle. In the 100 free, Curtis registered a time of 53.01 to break the Italian record of 53.18, set in 2016 by Federica Pellegrini.
At the Olympic Games, Curtis posted a prelims time of 24.67 and went 24.77 for her two swims in the 50 freestyle. Just eight months later, she is a quartet-second faster and clearly on an upward trajectory.
Federico Burdisso Claims Fly Win
After finishing fourth in the 200 butterfly and second in the 50 fly, Federico Burdisso got his hand on the wall first in the 100 butterfly. Clocking a time of 51.83, Burdisso fended off a late charge by Alberto Razzetti (51.94) to nail down the national title. Burdisso was out in 24.08, compared to the 24.75 of Razzetti, who earlier in the meet won the 200 individual medley. Over the back half of the race, Razzetti cut into his deficit, but came up just short at the wall.
Gianmarco Sansone took third place, going 52.05, and just .45 separated the top six finishers.
Christian Bacico completed a sweep of the backstroke events when he prevailed in the 200-meter distance. Bacico checked in with a time of 1:57.70, which was ahead of the 1:58.32 of Pietro Ubertalli. Bacico trailed Ubertalli at the midway point, but took the lead on the third length and added to his margin over the final 50 meters.
In the men’s 200 freestyle, Carlos D’Ambrosio took first place in 1:46.32, exactly a half-second faster than the 1:46.82 of Filippo Megli. Christian Mantegazza earned a victory in the men’s 200 breaststroke, as his swim of 2:10.68 produced a comfortable margin over Alessandro Fusco (2:11.47). Anita Gastaldi was quickest in the women’s 100 backstroke, posting a time of 1:00.46 while Paola Borrelli topped the field in the women’s 200 butterfly in 2:08.94.
