Nineteen-year-old Sara Curtis of Italy, always likely to earn high honours at these European Aquatics Championships, peaked earlier than expected in the evening session of day three as she set a world record of 26.63 in the women’s 50m backstroke semi-finals.
Curtis had hopes of a first European gold here having set a European record of 27.07 in Rome on June 27. But tonight’s result must have surpassed her expectations as she erased the mark of 26.68 set by Australia’s Kaylee McKeown in Budapest three years ago.
“I knew I was capable of doing it but I didn’t expect it here, in this race, in this moment,” Curtis told European Aquatics. “I didn’t expect to go so fast and it’s just so awesome and I’m so happy!
“I can tell that I am super woman right now, it’s unbelievable and I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep tonight.”
She finished the session at the Olympic Aquatic Centre by putting in an inspired leg of 52.29 to move Italy into a lead in the women’s 4x100m freestyle which only The Netherlands, for whom world champion Marrit Steenbergen swam an anchor leg of 51.34, could overcome.
The Dutch clocked a Championship record of 3:31.89, with Italy taking silver in 3:33.19 and bronze going to NAB in 3:33.69.
Curtis’s exploits were the highlight on another night of Olympic quality which saw Romania’s David Popovici being pushed to his limits to secure a third European men’s 100m freestyle title while Sweden’s 32-year-old Sarah Sjostrom returned in triumph to championship racing after her 20-month absence from the sport.
It was quite the night for 19-year-olds as Germany’s Johannes Liebmann bettered his own European record in recording 7:37.59 to win a stacked men’s 800m freestyle final.
Elsewhere Hungary’s world and Olympic men’s 200m backstroke champion Hubert Kos earned his first European title in that event in 1:53.08 and Great Britain’s Angharad Evans secured women’s 100m breaststroke gold with her third consecutive Championship record.
Ireland’s Ellen Walshe overtook Britain’s 16-year-old European junior champion Amalie Smith in the last 25 metres to win the women’s 400m individual medley title
Sjostrom, who returned to racing in April after becoming a mother, collected her 18th European gold in winning the women’s 50m butterfly. It was as if she had never been away.
The Swede – who won the 50m and 100m freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympics, had qualified fastest in heats and semi-finals and she continued to get even faster, holding off the challenge of Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk – 11 years her junior – to clock 25.05 and collect her 18th European gold.
Vanotterdijk won silver in 25.12, with Sweden finding a second presence on the podium through Sara Junevik who claimed bronze in 25.51.
“It was a challenge to come back but I’m really happy I took the chance,” Sjostrom said. “I never rushed anything with my comeback and a great team helped me all of the way. I’m grateful to be back at this level.
“I’m not back to the level of where I was, I’m not as fast and I’m not removing as quickly but where I am now is very interesting and exciting.”
In a stupendous 100m freestyle contest NAB athlete Egor Kornev reached the turn leading Popovici by 0.30 in 22.06 and he looked likely to bring about a shock victory until the last two or three strokes.
The 21-year-old Romanian world and Olympic champion found the way to win in that short distance, earning his third consecutive European title in this event in 46.56 and taking 0.16 off the Championship record he had set in the semi-finals.
Kornev took silver in 46.74, with bronze going to Hungary’s Olympic 100m butterfly champion Kristof Milak in 46.87,
“I’m getting close to that world record but I’m happy to being consistently near to it so I now know even more what the little things I need to work on are,” Popovici said. “And that means I don’t need to be distracted from enjoying what was a great time and a result I’m very, very happy with, against a packed field.”
Spain’s European junior champion Luca Hoek was fourth in 47.39, one place ahead of Croatia’s Jere Hribar on 47.42.
Kos had qualified for the men’s 200m backstroke final in a European and Championship record of 1:52.30, and for a while it looked as if he might be having a serious go at the 17-year-old world record of 1:51.92 set by Aaron Peirsol of the United States at the Rome 2009 Rome World Championships.
The genial Hungarian could not quite maintain that pace, but the gold was never going anywhere else. Greece’s defending champion Apostolos Siskos claimed silver in 1:53.81, and Italy’s Olympic 100m backstroke champion Thomas Ceccon earning bronze in 1:53.96.
Evans, who won two Commonwealth golds for Scotland last month, now has a European 100m breaststroke gold to set alongside it.
After Italy’s Benedetta Pilato had turned ahead with a 0.30 lead in 30.8, Evans came back inexorably, surging clear of all opposition in the final 25 metres before touching in 1:04.87.
Ireland’s Paris 2024 bronze medallist Mona McSharry moved up to claim silver in 1:05.41 with Pilato taking bronze in 1:05.89.
Estonia’s 19-year-old defending champion Eneli Jefimova was fourth in 1:05.94.
Smith looked on the point of winning the women’s 400m individual medley but Walshe was an irresistible force on her left, coming through to take gold in 4:34.32, with the Briton taking silver in 2:35.12 and bronze going to Poland’s Justina Kozan in 4:36.47.
Liebmann won a monumental contest in the men’s 800m freestyle, finishing comfortably clear of his team-mate Sven Schwarz, whose European record he broke earlier this year. Schwarz earned silver in 7:41.16 and bronze went to Hungary’s Zalan Sarkany in 7:41.75, with Ireland’s Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen missing a medal by one place in 7:43.30.
Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, whose chances in the previous night’s men’s 50m butterfly final dipped with his goggles as they became dislodged and settled under his nose, looked a man on a mission as he posted the fastest men’s 100m butterfly time in the semi-finals, clocking 50.21 ahead of Milak on 50.50 and France’s world champion Maxime Grousset on 50.78.
Milak summed up his day for European Aquatics: “For me, this year is about bringing myself up to the next level, from zero. Since I’ve managed to cut 0.6 from my personal best in the 50m fly and did the same today in the 100m free, I’d say I am on the right track, especially if I consider my current training regime.
“Comparing my results to the load, I can be satisfied. As for today’s race, I was happy to swim on the outside lane, enjoy my peace and do my job. It went really well until 75m, the last 25m were a bit of a sting, but I think had I approached that phase with more confidence, it could have been an even better time. But I’m fine with it, needless to say.”
Britain’s 18-year-old world junior champion Filip Nowacki was fastest into tomorrow’s men’s 200m breaststroke final as he clocked 2:08.60, with Austria’s triple European U23 breastroke champion Luka Mladenovic second fastest in 2:08.85.
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Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
