FLASH! Sara Curtis Blisters World Record in 50 Backstroke at European Championships
Coming off a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle from a night earlier, Italy’s Sara Curtis delivered the first world record of the European Championships on Wednesday night in Paris. The University of Virginia standout blasted a time of 26.63 in the semifinals of the 50-meter backstroke to significantly lower the previous global standard, set at 28.86 by Australian Kaylee McKeown in 2023.
Curtis entered the meet as the top seed, thanks to a European record of 27.07 from the Sette Colli Trophy earlier this summer. But Curtis absolutely obliterated her continental mark and easily bettered McKeown’s world record. The performance is the latest illustration of Curtis’ leap from promising talent to superstar status, and that upward move can be connected directly to her development in Charlottesville.
When Curtis arrived on the UVA campus, there were expectations she would help the Cavaliers remains in command of the NCAA landscape. That scenario has unfolded, with Virginia winning a sixth straight national championship in March. But Curtis has also risen to a worldwide force in the sprint-freestyle events and shorter backstroke disciplines. With her world record coming in a semifinal, it will be interesting to see if Curtis can take the record even lower in the championship race.
While Curtis broke the world record, Russia’s Alina Gaifutdinova went 26.91 for second into the final and the third-fastest time in history.