Sara Curtis Wins Seven Medals at European Short Course Championships

LUBIN, Poland– Virginia freshman Sara Curtis won seven medals, helped set a world record, an individual European record and four individual national records at the 2025 European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships held Dec. 2-7 in Lublin, Poland.

Curtis won individual gold in the 50 Back on the final day of the meet, setting the European record with a time of 25.49. Less than 30 minutes later, she won silver in the 50 Free (23.41). She won bronze in the 100 Free on Saturday (Dec. 6).

She won four relay medals, two golds, a silver and a bronze to give her seven total medals at the competition.

Curtis swam the anchor leg of Italy’s world-record-setting Mixed 4×50 Free Relay on Thursday, splitting a 22.71 on her leg to help her relay set the record with a time of 1:27.26.

“I am so happy and proud about this,” Curtis said. “I mean, it was my biggest dream of my life to achieve a world record. I’m so proud and happy to share it with these people that I love so much.”

Curtis set the Italian record in the 100 Free semifinals (51.29), only to break it in her bronze-medal swim, posting a 51.26. Curtis opened Saturday by setting an Italian record with her time of 25.97 in the prelims of the 50 Backstroke, giving her three national records in two events in the span of 26 hours. She then broke her own 50 Back record in Sunday’s final, bettering her Italian record and setting the European continental record with a time of 25.49.

Curtis anchored Wednesday’s Mixed 4x50M Medley Relay, splitting a 22.92 on her leg to touch the wall just ahead of the Dutch team to win gold. That relay posted a time of 1:36.09, the third-fastest ever and a European Short Course Championships record.

On Tuesday, Curtis swam the second leg of Italy’s 4x50M Free Relay in the final, with the Italians taking silver with a time of 1:34.30. She clocked a 22.90 on her split.

SARA CURTIS AT THE 2025 EUROPEAN AQUATICS SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Gold Medals (3): 50 Back, Mixed 4×50 Free Relay, Mixed 4×50 Medley Relay
• Silver Medals (2): 50 Free, Women’s 4×50 Free Relay
• Bronze Medals (2): 100 Free, Women’s 4×50 Medley Relay
• World Record (1): Mixed 4×50 Free Relay
• European Record (1): 50 Back
• Individual Italian Records (4): 100 Free (2x), 50 Back (2x)

OTHER NOTES/ NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• Incoming Cavalier Jana Pavalić (Croatia) made the finals of the 50 Free, breaking the Croatian record with her time in the semifinals (23.86). She finished eighth in the finals (23.87)
• Pavalić helped the Croatian Mixed 4×50 Free Relay qualify for the finals, placing seventh in the finals (1:30.70).
• Incoming Cavalier Nina Jazy (Germany) swam on the 4×50 Free Relay. The team finished fourth (1:35.76) in the final after posting a German national record time of 1:35.69 in the morning prelims
• Jazy also helped the women’s 4×50 Medley Relay set the national record with a 1:44.71 in the final. They placed fifth
• Incoming Cavaliers Smilte Plytnykaite (Lithuania) swam in the 100 Breast, advancing to the semis with a 14th place showing (1:05.85). She finished 13th in the semis (1:05.37).
• Cavalier freshman Davin Lindholm (Finland) represented Finland at the championship