Home swimmer Sara Curtis set a European women’s 50m backstroke record of 27.07 at the 67th Sette Colli International in Rome.
The 19-year-old Italian, who rounded off 2025 by claiming seven medals at the EA Short Course Championships in Lublin, took 0.16 off the national record of 27.23 she had set in the day one morning heats and 0.03 off the European record set by Kira Touissant of The Netherlands.
Curtis, based at the University of Virginia, thus moves to fifth on an all-time list headed by Australian Kaylee McKeown’s 2023 time of 26.86.
The morning swim, which knocked 0.10 off the national record she had set in April, was not without turbulence as Curtis was initially disqualified for exceeding the 15m underwater allowance, only to be allowed on appeal.
In Lublin Curtis the European short course record for the 50m backstroke as she won gold in 25.49 – only for Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands to take 0.02 off that mark later in the same session during the women’s 4x50m medley relay.
Elsewhere in the day one action Britain’s multiple world and Olympic champion Adam Peaty pulled out of the evening’s men’s 50m breaststroke B final after injuring his hand in the heats.
The 31-year-old multiple world and Olympic champion, who had finished tenth in 27.40, revealed in an Instagram post that he had suffered a finger injury during his race:
“Minor argument with the wall in the race today, unfortunately will need to drop the final tonight but I hope to be back in the 100m tomorrow morning.
“Still learning.
“A big thank you to the medical team who were incredible and got an X-ray faster than I’ve ever seen or experienced.”
Peaty is ranked sixth in the world in the 100m breaststroke this year, having posted a mark of 58.97 at the Aquatics GB Championships which qualified him for the Commonwealth Games and the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026, where swimming will take place from August 10 to 16.
Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
