European S/C Championships, Day 5 Prelims: Sara Curtis Tops Prelims In 50 Free & Back In Show Of Speed
Sara Curtis led the way in the 50 free and 50 back in the penultimate prelims session at the European Short Course Championships in Lublin, Poland.
The 19-year-old set an Italian record of 25.97 in the 50 back before returning about an hour later to post the top time in the 50 free. It set up a busy evening for Curtis who goes into the 100 free final tonight in lane four alongside Great Britain’s Eva Okaro as well as tackling two semifinals.
The session ended with Matt Richards winning a swimoff with Nandor Nemeth for the last spot in the 100 free final with the Briton clocking 46.16 to 46.30.
On another note, Caspar Corbeau has withdrawn from the meet with illness as has Roos Vanotterdijk.
- Link to Eurovision/live coverage
- Results
- Entry Lists
- Day 1 Prelims Recap: Women
- Day 1 Prelims Recap: Men
- Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap
- Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap
- Day 3 Finals Recap
- Day 4 Prelims Recap
- Day 4 Finals Recap
Women’s 50m Backstroke
Sara Curtis made her first journey inside 26secs to top prelims in 25.97, 0.06 swifter than her previous best of 26.03 – a WJR – from the short-course worlds in Budapest. Lauren Cox, winner of the 100m backstroke, was second through in 26.15, 0.02 outside the British record of 26.13 that has stood to Georgia Davies since 2018. Analia Pigree (26.39) and Louise Hansson (26.51) were next through.
Men’s 50m Backstroke
Ralf Tribuntsov led the way in 22.86 as he lowered his own Estonian record from the Carmel stop of the World Cup by 0.05. Miroslav Knedla of Czechia was the other man inside 23 on 22.94 followed by Robert Pedersen (23.18) and Ollie Morgan, who went within 0.10 of Chris Walker-Hebborn’s British record in 23.19. Walker-Hebborn, an Olympic and world medley relay medallist, posted 23.09 en-route to silver at the 2015 edition in Netanya, Israel.
Women’s 50m Breaststroke
Tribuntsov’s Estonia teammate Eneli Jefimova already has one title under her belt when she sped to the 100 crown in a championship record of 1:02.82. She topped the two-length prelims in 29.48, heading 10 women on 29secs separated by 0.50. Anastasia Gorbenko (29.64) and Ruta Meilutyte, the world record holder, (29.69) were the next through. Reigning champion Benedetta Pilato isn’t in Lublin as she serves a suspension imposed after she and Italian teammate Chiara Tarantino were caught shoplifting after the Singapore worlds.
Men’s 50m Breaststroke
The two-per-nation rule really came into play here where three Italians filled the top four slots. Simone Cerasuolo set the pace in the fifth of seven heats in 25.52 which meant a nervous wait. Teammate Nicolo Martinenghi went 25.84 in the final prelim ahead of Ludovico Viberti whose time of 25.89 was fourth fastest but he misses out as only two swimmers from a single nation can progress from the prelims. World record-holder Emre Sakci posted the same time as Martinenghi for joint second qualifier with Melvin Imoudu of Germany next through in 26.06.
Women’s 50m Freestyle
Sara Curtis continued her morning with another prelims topper as she stopped the clock in 23.45secs. Kasia Wasick of Poland was catching with every stroke down the second 25 which she covered in 11.99 as she posted 23.47. Silvia di Pietro – who set an Italian mark of 23.39 leading off the women’s 4×50 free relay quartet that won silver on the opening night – joins teammate Curtis in the semis after posting 23.70 with 2023 silver medallist Beryl Gastaldello also through (23.80). Okaro safely progressed in 23.96. Marrit Steenbergen and Roos Vanotterdijk were absent, the former already having a busy evening ahead.
Men’s 50m Freestyle
A new champion is guaranteed in this event with Ben Proud having joined the Enhanced Games. Proud set a European record of 20.18 en-route to gold in Otopeni two years ago. On Saturday, it was Leonardo Deplano who topped prelims in 20.98 with the Italian the only man to break 21 seconds. Jere Hribar and Heiko Gigler both clocked 21.oo with Maxime Grousset next through in 21.06 followed by Nikita Sheremet (21.08) and Szebasztian Szabo (21.15) with the Hungarian having won gold in 2021 and joint silver alongside Florent Manaudou two years ago.
Women’s 200m Butterfly
With the breathless sprints completed, the 200 fly races got underway albeit with only 16 swimmers in the women’s race. Helena Rosendahl Bach, Otopeni silver medallist, led the way in 2:06.12 ahead of Great Britain’s Emily Richards (2:06.26). There was a gap of more than 3.5secs to the next qualifier Paola Borrelli who clocked 2:09.78 while Angelina Kohler, who won the title two years ago, was 16th in 2:15.48. However, given only 16 swimmers entered, there was little or no pressure on the women.
Men’s 200m Butterfly
The two-per-nation rule played its part as Polish swimmers filled the top three slots. Krzysztof Chmielewski led the way in 1:50.93, 0.01 swifter than brother Michal (1:50.94) which meant that Adrian Jaskiewicz missed out despite posting 1:51.80. Noè Ponti has taken a long break from the event but he qualified third in 1:52.34. Of note was the presence of Olympic and world backstroke medallist Luke Greenbank who qualified 16th in 1:55.52.
Women’s 1500m Freestyle
Simona Quadarella already has two silver medals from the 400 and 800 in Lublin, both won behind Isabel Gose who isn’t competing in the longest race in the pool. The Italian has enjoyed a fine 2025 in which she set a European record of 15:31.79 en-route to silver at the World Championships in Singapore. She was comfortably the top qualifier in 15:48.82, almost seven seconds ahead of Spanish duo Maria De Valdes Alvarez (15:55.74) and Angela Martinez Guillen (15:58.36).
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