ROME – Virginia women's swimming rising sophomore Sara Curtis set a European record and four Italian national records while competing at the Sette Colli Trophy, a three-day international meet being held June 26-28 in Rome, Italy.
Curtis set an Italian national record in the prelims of the 50m Backstroke on the opening session of the meet, posting a time of 27.23. In the finals session, she broke both her newly minted national record and the European record by going 27.07. She moves up to the fifth fastest performer ever in the event.
On Saturday, Curts set her third national record, taking down her own mark in the finals of the 100m Free, posting a 52.69, going under 53 seconds for the first time in her career.
Curtis capped off her performance by breaking her own record in the 50m Free, posting a time of 24.09 in Sunday's final session. She set the previous record of24.29 in April at the Italian National Championships.
“I’m really happy and satisfied," Curtis said after her 50m Free swim. "The hug with Gretchen was wonderful. She said some beautiful things to me and I’m so happy for her world record. Despite the pressure, I felt very calm. Moving to the United States has given me new friendships, which was something I really needed. It has been a huge step, but it was worth it. I’m proud to have raced in two finals alongside two world records.”
The elite international meet features more than 700 athletes from 36 nations competing, including multiple Olympic medalists and world and European champions. Curtis is one of the 32 athletes from the Italian National Team.