PARIS – Virginia sophomore Sara Curtis broke the Italian record in the 50m Free on Saturday (Aug. 15) at the 2026 European Swimming Championships at the Centre Aquatique Olympique Métropole du Grand Paris in Paris, France.
Curtis finished third in the 50m Free, breaking the 24-second barrier for the first time in her career, touching in 23.99. The mark betters her previous Italian record time of 24.09, set in June at the Setticolli meet in Rome.
This is her fifth medal of the championships. She won gold in the 50m Back and bronze in the 100m Free and has two relay medals, taking silver in the 4x100m Free Relay and bronze in the Mixed 4x100m Free Relay. Both relays set Italian records. Her 50m Back time was both an Italian record and a world record.
In other action, sophomore Lana Pudar, who swims for Bosnia and Herzegovina, placed seventh in the 200m Fly (2:09.65) to qualify for Sunday's final.
The meet runs through Sunday (August 16).