Sara Curtis signed on Thursday afternoon in the Parisian Saint-Denis the best headline of the eighth day of the European Swimming Championships: a world record in the 50 backstroke that absolutely no one saw coming with such force.
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The Italian, 19 years old, stopped the clock at 26.56 seconds, three tenths below the Australian Kaylee McKeown’s record since 2023 (26.86), and in the process also took the European and championship records. It is her third medal in these continentals, after bronze in the 100 freestyle and silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay. The French Mary-Ambre Moluh, cheered by the crowd, took silver with 27.06, and the British Lauren Cox completed the podium in 27.15s, ahead of the Dutch Marrit Steenbergen, fourth with 27.16: just one hundredth separated bronze from fourth place, with a greater distance between gold and silver.
The session had started with another big name, Kristof Milak. The Hungarian reaffirmed his dominance in the 100 butterfly with 49.48s, a European and championship record, leaving his compatriot Hubert Kos out of the podium in fourth with 50.25. Behind, the French Maxime Grousset took silver with 49.70, and the Swiss Noe Ponti secured bronze with 49.93s.
The surprise of the afternoon came in the men’s 200 breaststroke. The British Filip Nowacki beat the Dutch Caspar Corbeau by eight hundredths in the last length, 2m07.70s to 2:07.78. The Austrian Luka Mladenovic closed the podium with 2m08.91s, leaving the Russian Kirill Prigoda out of the medals in fourth with 2m09.14s, more than two tenths behind bronze.
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In the women’s 200 freestyle, the Czech Barbora Seemanova broke the championship record with 1m54.38s to claim gold, just 27 hundredths ahead of the Dutch Marrit Steenbergen, who adds several medals this week: gold in the 100 freestyle, with a championship record, and silver in the mixed medley relay. Bronze went to the British Freya Colbert, with 1m55.81s, ahead of the German Linda Roth, fourth with 1m56.71s.
The day ended with the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay, where Spain came close to a medal with a great performance. Hungary won with a championship record, 3m10.03s, ahead of Neutral Athletes B, second with 3m10.12s, and Croatia, bronze with 3m11.08s. The Spanish team, fourth with 3m11.91s, was less than a second from the podium, a result that confirms the progression of the Spanish short relay in a year of high level in European sprinting.
The championship enters its final stretch, with new finals in the coming days, in which Spain will seek the podium that has eluded it in the men’s short relay, after a session with a world record, two European records, and four championship records.
