Imagine shattering a national record held by a legendary icon in your sport—now picture doing it as a 19-year-old rising star, propelling yourself into the elite ranks of swimmers worldwide. That's exactly what Sara Curtis accomplished, and it's sparking fresh excitement in the swimming community! But here's where it gets controversial: Is this the dawn of a new era for Italian swimming, or does it just highlight how much pressure young athletes face in the shadows of giants like Federica Pellegrini? Stick around to dive deeper into Curtis's record-smashing performance at the 2025 European Short Course Championships.
2025 EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Dates: December 2-7, 2025
- Venue: Lublin, Poland
- Pool Type: Short Course Meters (SCM, 25 meters)
- Official Meet Hub: (https://europeanaquatics.org/swimming-short-course-lublin-2025/)
- Entry Lists and Psych Sheets: (https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/EntryList202511251343.pdf)
- Real-Time Results: (https://www.omegatiming.com/2025/european-aquatics-short-course-swimming-championships-live-results)
- Live Recaps:
Preliminary Rounds: Day 1 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-short-course-championships-day-one-prelims-live-recap/) | Day 2 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-2-prelims-live-recap/) | Day 3 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-3-prelims-live-recap/) | Day 4 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-4-prelims-live-recap/)
Final Rounds: Day 1 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-1-finals-live-recap/) | Day 2 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-2-finals-live-recap/) | Day 3 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-3-finals-live-recap/) | Day 4 (https://swimswam.com/2025-european-sc-championships-day-4-finals-live-recap/)
WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – SEMIFINAL ROUND
For those new to swimming stats, these abbreviations break down the records: WR stands for World Record, WJR for Women's Junior Record, ER for European Record, EJR for European Junior Record, and CR for Championship Record. Let's look at the current benchmarks:
- World Record: 49.93 – Set by Kate Douglass (https://swimswam.com/bio/kate-douglass/), USA, in 2025
- Women's Junior Record: 51.45 – Kayla Sanchez, Canada, 2018
- European Record: 50.58 – Sarah Sjöström, Sweden, 2017
- European Junior Record: 52.36 – Anastasya Gorbenko, Israel, 2020
- Championship Record: 50.95 – Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Netherlands, 2017
Here are the top eight swimmers who advanced to the finals, listed by their semifinal times:
- Sara Curtis (https://swimswam.com/bio/sara-curtis/) (ITA) – 51.29
- Eva Okaro (https://swimswam.com/tag/eva-okaro/) (GBR) – 51.48
- Marrit Steenbergen (https://swimswam.com/bio/marrit-steenbergen/) (NED) – 51.56
- Beryl Gastaldello (FRA) – 51.57
- Minna Abraham (HUN) – 52.08
- Barbora Janickova (CZE) – 52.14
- Milou van Wijk (NED) – 52.16
- Nina Jane Holt (GER) – 52.56
Sara Curtis (https://swimswam.com/bio/sara-curtis/) made waves by clocking a blistering 51.29 in the semifinals, which not only seized the top spot but also eclipsed the longstanding Italian National Record. This mark was previously held at 52.10 by Federica Pellegrini (https://swimswam.com/bio/federica-pellegrini/) way back in 2019. For beginners in swimming, a national record means it's the fastest time ever swum by someone from that country in that event, so Curtis's achievement is a huge deal for Italian athletics.
To put her performance in perspective, let's compare the splits—think of splits as the times for each 50-meter portion of the race. Here's how Curtis's semifinal swim stacked up against Pellegrini's record-setting effort and her own preliminary round:
Split Comparison
| Swimmer/Phase | 50m Split | 100m Split | Total Time |
|---------------|-----------|------------|------------|
| Curtis - Semifinals | 24.5 | 26.79 | 51.29 |
| Pellegrini - Record (2019) | 25.43 | 26.67 | 52.10 |
| Curtis - Prelims (Personal Best) | 24.81 | 27.48 | 52.29 |
Curtis blasted off faster than Pellegrini did six years ago, particularly shining in the second half of the race. She improved her personal best from prelims by a full second, shaving time mainly from that back 50 meters. This kind of strategic pacing is a great example of how swimmers train to balance speed and endurance—often, the strongest finishes come from conserving energy early on.
As a result, Curtis enters tomorrow's final as the clear favorite. The 19-year-old has been a force this week, including her standout leg of 22.71 to help Italy's mixed 4×50 freestyle relay smash a World Record with a 1:27.26 finish (https://swimswam.com/curtis-anchors-in-22-7-as-italians-set-new-world-record-in-mixed-4x50-free-relay-127-26/). Interestingly, only one other woman, Poland's Kasia Wasick (https://swimswam.com/bio/kasia-wasick/), who split 22.95, joined her in the sub-23-second club, showing just how elite Curtis's contribution was.
With this swim, Curtis vaults into the 14th spot on the all-time women's SCM 100 free list. She now shares the rank with Femke Heemskerk from the Netherlands, who hit 51.29 in 2018. Plus, as a freshman at the University of Virginia, she joins fellow Cavaliers Kate Douglass (https://swimswam.com/bio/kate-douglass/) and Gretchen Walsh (https://swimswam.com/bio/gretchen-walsh/) on this prestigious leaderboard. And this is the part most people miss: These rankings aren't just numbers—they reflect years of training, innovation in technique, and the evolving landscape of women's swimming.
For a fuller picture, here's the all-time top performers in women's short course 100 free:
- Kate Douglass (https://swimswam.com/bio/kate-douglass/), 49.93, USA — World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2025
- Cate Campbell, 50.25, Australia — Hancock Prospecting 2017 (25m)
- Gretchen Walsh (https://swimswam.com/bio/gretchen-walsh/), 50.31, USA — World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) 2024
- Emma McKeon, 50.58, Australia — FINA Swimming World Cup 2021
- Sarah Sjöström, 50.58, Sweden — FINA Swimming World Cup 2017
- Beryl Gastaldello, 50.63, France — World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) 2024
- Siobhán Haughey, 50.79, Hong Kong — ISL Final – Match 18
- Mollie O’Callaghan, 50.82, Australia — World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2025
- Ranomi Kromowidjojo, 50.95, Netherlands — European Swimming Championships (25m) 2017
- Libby Lenton, 51.01, Australia — New Zealand National Championships (25m)
- Marrit Steenbergen, 51.10, Netherlands — World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2025
- Fran Halsall, 51.19, Great Britain — FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup 2009
- Abbey Weitzeil, 51.26, USA — ISL 2020 Season – Match 10
- TIE: Femke Heemskerk, 51.29, Netherlands — FINA Swimming World Cup 2018 / Sara Curtis (https://swimswam.com/bio/sara-curtis/), 51.29, Italy — 2025 European Championships
In This Story
- Federica Pellegrini (https://swimswam.com/bio/federica-pellegrini/)
Federica Pellegrini (https://swimswam.com/bio/federica-pellegrini/)
- Gretchen Walsh (https://swimswam.com/bio/gretchen-walsh/)
Gretchen Walsh (https://swimswam.com/bio/gretchen-walsh/)
- Kasia Wasick (https://swimswam.com/bio/kasia-wasick/)
Kasia Wasick (https://swimswam.com/bio/kasia-wasick/)
- Kate Douglass (https://swimswam.com/bio/kate-douglass/)
Kate Douglass (https://swimswam.com/bio/kate-douglass/)
- Sara Curtis (https://swimswam.com/bio/sara-curtis/)
Sara Curtis (https://swimswam.com/bio/sara-curtis/)
About Anya Pelshaw
Anya Pelshaw (https://swimswam.com/bio/anya-pelshaw/)
Anya has been part of the SwimSwam team since June 2021, serving as a writer and social media coordinator. She's covered major events like the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Women's NCAA Championships for writing and social media. Additionally, she was on-site for the 2023 US Summer Nationals and the 2024 European Championships.
Read More » (https://swimswam.com/bio/anya-pelshaw/)
What do you think—does breaking a record like this put too much weight on young swimmers' shoulders, or is it the ultimate validation of hard work? Do you agree that Curtis is poised to dominate more events, or is there room for debate about her ranking among all-time greats? Share your thoughts in the comments below; I'd love to hear if you side with the traditionalists or the new wave of talent!
