Sara Curtis Sets New 50m Backstroke World Record Again

At the European swimming championships in Paris on Thursday, 19-year-old Italian swimmer Sara Curtis broke the women’s 50m backstroke world record for the second consecutive day. She achieved a time of 26.56 seconds in the final, surpassing her previous record of 26.63 seconds set during the semifinal.

This performance improved upon the former record held by Australian swimmer Kaylee McKeown by 0.23 seconds. In the final, France’s Mary-Ambre Moluh secured the silver medal with a time of 27.06 seconds, while Britain’s Lauren Cox took bronze, finishing 0.59 seconds behind Curtis.

This victory adds to Curtis's accolades, as she previously set the short-course European record in the same event in Poland last year. Additionally, this was her second medal at the championships, having won bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle on Tuesday.

Curtis expressed her delight, stating, “I’m absolutely delighted. It’s hard to come to terms with the emotions of yesterday’s record,” in an interview with Rai.