{{Short description|Italian swimmer (born 2006)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox swimmer | name = Sara Curtis | image = Sara Curtis after racing 50m backstroke.png | image_size = | alt = | caption = Curtis at the 2025 Italian Spring Championships | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | full_name = | nickname = | nationality = | national_team = {{flagicon|ITA}} Italy | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2006|08|19|df=y}}<ref name="FINAprofile">[https://www.fina.org/athletes/1330409/sara-curtis "Sara Curtis"]. ''FINA''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> | birth_place = Savigliano, Italy | death_date = | death_place = | height = <!-- "X cm (yyyy)" or "X ft Y in (yyyy)" --> | weight = <!-- "X kg (yyyy)" or "X lb (yyyy)" --> | strokes = Freestyle, backstroke | club = Team Dimensione Nuoto<ref name="Giaccone2Aug2022"/> | collegeteam = | coach = Thomas Maggiora<ref name="Giaccone2Aug2022"/> | module = | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Women's swimming}} {{MedalCountry | {{ITA}}}} {{MedalCount |total=yes |World Championships (SC)|1|0|0 |European Championships (SC)|3|2|2 |World Junior Championships|0|3|1 |European Junior Championships|6|1|2 }} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships (SC)}} {{MedalGold|2024 Budapest|4×50 m mixed freestyle}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championships (SC)}} {{MedalGold|2025 Lublin | 50 m backstroke }} {{MedalGold|2025 Lublin|4×50 m mixed freestyle}} {{MedalGold|2025 Lublin|4×50 m mixed medley}} {{MedalSilver|2025 Lublin | 50 m freestyle }} {{MedalSilver|2025 Lublin | 4×50 m freestyle}} {{MedalBronze|2025 Lublin | 100 m freestyle }} {{MedalBronze|2025 Lublin | 4×50 m medley}} {{MedalCompetition|World Junior Championships}} {{MedalSilver|2022 Lima|50 m freestyle}} {{MedalSilver|2022 Lima|4×100 m medley}} {{MedalSilver|2022 Lima|4×100 m mixed medley}} {{MedalBronze|2022 Lima|50 m backstroke}} {{MedalCompetition|European Junior Championships}} {{MedalGold|2022 Otopeni|4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold | 2024 Vilnius | 50 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold | 2024 Vilnius | 100 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold | 2024 Vilnius | 50 m backstroke}} {{MedalGold | 2024 Vilnius | 4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalGold | 2024 Vilnius | Mixed 4×100 m freestyle}} {{MedalSilver | 2024 Vilnius | Mixed 4×100 m medley}} {{MedalBronze|2022 Otopeni|50 m freestyle}} {{MedalBronze|2022 Otopeni|4×100 m medley}} }}
'''Sara Curtis''' (born 19 August 2006 in Savigliano) is an Italian competitive swimmer specializing in sprint freestyle and backstroke events. At the 2022 World Junior Championships, she won silver medals in the 50-metre freestyle, 4×100-metre medley relay, and 4×100-metre mixed medley relay, a bronze medal in the 50-metre backstroke, and placed fourth in the 100-metre backstroke. At the 2022 European Junior Championships, she won a gold medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay and bronze medals in the 50-metre freestyle and the 4×100-metre medley relay.
==Background== Born in Savigliano to an Italian father and a Nigerian mother.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rainews.it/tgr/piemonte/articoli/2023/09/sara-curtis-ai-mondiali-giovanili-di-nuoto-e5729100-30d4-45f2-a326-bf6d94f853b7.html|title=Sara Curtis at the World Junior Swimming Championships|website=Rai News|date=2 September 2023|access-date=17 April 2026|language=it}}</ref> Curtis trains under the guidance of coach Thomas Maggiora with Team Dimensione Nuoto.<ref name="Giaccone2Aug2022">Giaccone, Enrico (2 August 2022). [https://www.laguida.it/2022/08/02/tris-doro-per-sara-curtis-ai-nazionali/ "Tris d'oro per Sara Curtis ai nazionali"] (in Italian). ''LaGuida.it''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref>
==Career== ===2022=== ====2022 European Junior Championships==== At the 2022 European Junior Swimming Championships, in July in Otopeni, Romania, Curtis won a gold medal as part of the 4×100-metre freestyle relay, splitting a 56.50 for the third leg of the relay to contribute to a final time of 3:42.98.<ref name="Foglio5Jul2022">Foglio, Alessandro (5 July 2022). [https://corsia4.it/nuoto/eurojunior-2022-d1-italia-subito-oro-nella-4x100-stile-donne-bronzo-nella-uomini/ "EuroJunior 2022 | D1: Italia subito oro nella 4×100 stile donne e bronzo nella uomini"] (in Italian). ''corsia4.it''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref><ref name="LEN10Jul2022crb">LEN (10 July 2022). [https://ejcotopeni2022.microplustimingservices.com/export/NU_EJC2019/NU/pdf/SWM_Book.pdf?v=7 "Romania 2022 LEN European Junior Swimming Championships: Complete Results Book"]. ''Microplus Informatica''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> In the 50-metre freestyle, she won the bronze medal with a personal best time of 25.39 seconds, finishing 0.17 seconds behind gold medalist Nina Jazy of Germany and 0.05 seconds behind silver medalist Bianca Costea of Romania.<ref name="LEN10Jul2022crb"/><ref name="Ion7Jul2022">Ion, Nicolae (7 July 2022). [https://adevarul.ro/sport/bianca-costea-a-adus-romaniei-a-patra-medalie-la-2177611.html "Bianca Costea a adus României a patra medalie la CE de natație pentru juniori"] (in Romanian). ''Adevărul''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> For her other events, she won a bronze medal as part of the 4×100-metre medley relay, swimming the backstroke portion of the relay in the final with a personal best time of 1:01.92, placed fifth in the final of the 50-metre backstroke with a personal best time of 28.79 seconds, placed sixth in the final of the 100-metre backstroke with a 1:02.00, and placed 20th in the 100-metre freestyle with a time of 57.57 seconds.<ref name="LEN10Jul2022crb"/>
Following her performances, Curtis competed at the 2022 Italian Junior National Championships in Ostia, winning the gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle with a Championships record of 25.40 seconds, gold medals in the 50-metre backstroke and 100-metre backstroke, and a silver medal in the 100-metre freestyle.<ref name="Giaccone2Aug2022"/>
====2022 World Junior Championships==== {{MedalTableTop|name=no|header=2022 World Junior Championships}} {{MedalSilver| 4×100 m mixed medley | 3:55.58 }} {{MedalSilver| 50 m freestyle | 25.53 }} {{MedalSilver| 4×100 m medley | 4:06.91 }} {{MedalBronze| 50 m backstroke | 28.93 }} {{MedalBottom}}
On the second day of the 2022 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, 31 August in Lima, Peru, Curtis placed fourth in her first final of the Championships, the 100-metre backstroke, with a time of 1:02.10, which was 0.70 seconds behind gold medalist Dóra Molnár of Hungary and 0.44 seconds ahead of fifth-place finisher Aissia Prisecariu of Romania.<ref name="31Aug2022f100bk">FINA (31 August 2022). [https://www.omegatiming.com/File/00011700050202EC0104FFFFFFFFFF01.pdf "8th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Lima (PER): Women's 100m Backstroke Final Results"]. ''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref><ref name="lafedeltaIT10Sep2022">[https://www.lafedelta.it/2022/09/10/una-super-sara-curtis-ai-mondiali-juniores/ "Una super Sara Curtis ai Mondiali juniores"] (in Italian). ''lafedelta.it''. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> Later in the same session, she won her first medal of the Championships, a silver medal in the 4×100-metre mixed medley relay, contributing a 1:03.19 for the backstroke portion of the relay to the final time of 3:55.58.<ref name="lafedeltaIT10Sep2022"/><ref name="FINA31Aug2022f4100mmr">FINA (31 August 2022). [https://www.omegatiming.com/File/00011700050305F70104FFFFFFFFFF01.pdf "8th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Lima (PER): Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay Final Results"]. ''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> Three days later, she won her first individual medal, a bronze medal in the 50-metre backstroke, finishing 0.42 seconds behind gold medalist Lora Komoróczy of Hungary with a time of 28.93 seconds.<ref name="lafedeltaIT10Sep2022"/><ref name="FINA3Sep2022f50bk">FINA (3 September 2022). [https://www.omegatiming.com/File/00011700050202EB0104FFFFFFFFFF01.pdf "8th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Lima (PER): Women's 50m Backstroke Final Results"]. ''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref><ref name="OAS3Sep2022">OA Sport (3 September 2022). [https://www.eurosport.it/nuoto/nuoto-mondiali-giovanili-2022-4100-sl-donne-dargento-e-sara-curtis-bronzo-nei-50-dorso_sto9123445/story.shtml "Nuoto, Mondiali giovanili 2022: 4×100 sl donne d'argento e Sara Curtis bronzo nei 50 dorso"] (in Italian). ''Eurosport''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref><ref name="ISF4Sep2022">[https://www.federnuoto.it/home/nuoto/news-nuoto/38656-mondiali-jrs-4x100-d%E2%80%99argento,-curtis-di-bronzo.html "Mondiali jrs. 4x100 d'argento, Curtis di bronzo"] (in Italian). ''Italian Swimming Federation''. 4 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> The following day, she started the finals session with a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle, finishing in a time of 25.53 seconds.<ref name="lafedeltaIT10Sep2022"/><ref name="FINA4Sep2022f50fr">FINA (4 September 2022). [https://www.omegatiming.com/File/00011700050201EB0104FFFFFFFFFF01.pdf "8th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Lima (PER): Women's 50m Freestyle Final Results"]. ''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref><ref name="ISF5Sep2022">[https://www.federnuoto.it/home/nuoto/news-nuoto/38662-mondiali-jrs-l%E2%80%99italia-chiude-con-venti-medaglie.html "L'Italia chiude con il record di venti medaglie"] (in Italian). ''Italian Swimming Federation''. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> She concluded with a 1:03.14 backstroke leg of the 4×100-metre medley relay in the final, helping finish second and win the silver medal with a time of 4:06.91.<ref name="lafedeltaIT10Sep2022"/><ref name="ISF5Sep2022"/><ref name="FINA4Sep2022f4100mr">FINA (4 September 2022). [https://www.omegatiming.com/File/00011700050205F70104FFFFFFFFFF01.pdf "8th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships Lima (PER): Women's 4x100m Medley Relay Results Final"]. ''Omega Timing''. Retrieved 15 September 2022.</ref> Her medals contributed to a record 20 total medals won by Italy at a single FINA World Junior Swimming Championships.<ref name="ISF5Sep2022"/>
===2023=== In January 2023, Curtis achieved a pair of personal best times at the 23rd Luxembourg Euro Meet in Luxembourg, placing second in the final of the 50-metre freestyle with a time of 25.33 seconds, which was 0.15 seconds behind first-place finisher and fellow Italian Silvia Di Pietro, and fourth in the final of the 100-metre freestyle in 55.73 seconds.<ref name="Nuoto29Jan2023">[https://www.nuoto.com/2023/01/29/conclusa-la-prima-giornata-delleuro-meet-di-lussemburgo-risultati/ "Concluso l'Euro Meet di Lussemburgo. Day 3. Poggio, Carraro, D'Innocenzo, Di Pietro, Deplano sul podio"] (in Italian). ''nuoto.com''. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.</ref>
In April, on day two of the 2023 Italian National Championships in Riccione, Curtis ranked as the fastest junior in the final of the 50-metre backstroke, placing sixth with a personal best and 2023 European Junior Swimming Championships qualifying time of 28.70 seconds.<ref name="ISF14Apr2023">[https://fin2023.microplustiming.com/export/NU_2023_04_13-17_Riccione/NU/pdf/CLS-ASF-50DO-FIN-ALL.pdf?x=12:15:06 "Campionato Italiano Assoluto UnipolSai - V. 50m 2023: Resultati 50 m Dorso - Donne Finale"] (in Italian). ''Italian Swimming Federation''. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.</ref> In the 100-metre freestyle final on day three, she achieved a personal best and European Junior Championships qualifying time of 55.12 seconds, which ranked as fifth across all ages and first amongst juniors (born 2005 or more recent) in the final.<ref name="ISF15Apr2023">[https://fin2023.microplustiming.com/export/NU_2023_04_13-17_Riccione/NU/pdf/CLS-ASF-100SL-FIN-ALL.pdf?x=12:02:21 "Campionato Italiano Assoluto UnipolSai - V. 50m 2023: Resultati 100 m Stile Libero - Donne Finale"] (in Italian). ''Italian Swimming Federation''. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.</ref> In the preliminaries of the 50-metre freestyle on day four, she qualified for the final ranking first with a personal best and Italian junior record time of 25.23 seconds, which was 0.01 seconds faster than the former record of 25.24 seconds by Giorgia Biondani from 2013 and 0.10 seconds faster than her previous personal best time.<ref name="ISF16Apr2023">[https://fin2023.microplustiming.com/export/NU_2023_04_13-17_Riccione/NU/pdf/CLS-ASF-50SL-PRE-RIEP.pdf?x=07:26:23 "Campionato Italiano Assoluto UnipolSai - V. 50m 2023: Resultati 50 m Stile LIbero - Donne"] (in Italian). ''Italian Swimming Federation''. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.</ref> She improved the record and personal best time in the final, winning the senior national title with a 2023 World Junior Championships qualifying time of 25.14 seconds.<ref name="Nuoto16Apr2023">https://www.coni.it/it/news/22940-assoluti-di-riccione-vola-nelle-batterie-dei-50-stile-sara-curtis-presa-la-carta-olimpica.html (in Italian). ''coni.it'' 8 March 2024.</ref> It marked her first senior national title and an Italian cadet category record.<ref name="Scapol16Apr2023">Scapol, Silvia (16 April 2023). [https://www.nuoto.com/2023/04/16/sara-curtis-giovanissima-e-nella-gara-di-oggi-con-una-pioggia-di-risultati/ "Sara Curtis: giovanissima e nella gara di oggi con una pioggia di risultati"] (in Italian). ''nuoto.com''. Retrieved 16 April 2023.</ref>
==International championships (50 m)== {| class="sortable wikitable" ! Meet ! class="unsortable"|50 freestyle ! class="unsortable"|100 freestyle ! class="unsortable"|50 backstroke ! class="unsortable"|100 backstroke ! class="unsortable"|4×100 freestyle ! class="unsortable"|4×100 medley ! class="unsortable"|4×100 mixed medley |- | style="background:#ccccff| EJC 2022 || align="center"|{{Bronze3}} || align="center"|20th || align="center"|5th || align="center"|6th || align="center"|{{Gold1}} || align="center"|{{Bronze3}} || style="background:#fdffe7"| |- | WJC 2022 || align="center"|{{Silver2}} || style="background:#fdffe7"| || align="center"|{{Bronze3}} || align="center"|4th || style="background:#fdffe7"| || align="center"|{{Silver2}} || align="center"|{{Silver2}} |}
==Personal best times== ===Long course metres (50 m pool)=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Event ! Time ! ! Meet ! Location ! Date ! Age ! Ref |- | 50 m freestyle | style="text-align:center;" | '''24.29''' | h | 2026 Italian National Championships | Riccione | 17 April 2026 | style="text-align:center;" | 19 | style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="Nuoto16Apr2023"/> |- | 100 m freestyle | style="text-align:center;" | '''53.01''' | | 2025 Italian National Championships | Riccione |15 April 2025 | style="text-align:center;" | 18 | style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="ISF15Apr2023"/> |- | 50 m backstroke | style="text-align:center;" | '''27.33''' | | 2026 Italian National Championships | Riccione | 15 April 2026 | style="text-align:center;" | 19 | style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="ISF14Apr2023"/> |- | 100 m backstroke | style="text-align:center;" | '''1:00.35''' | r | 2026 Italian National Championships | Riccione | 16 April 2026 | style="text-align:center;" | 19 | style="text-align:center;" | <ref name="LEN10Jul2022crb"/> |} <span style="font-size:95%">Legend: '''r''' – relay 1st leg; '''h''' – preliminary heat</span>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{World Aquatics|id=1330409}}
{{Footer World SC Champions 4x50m Freestyle Mixed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Sara}} Category:2006 births Category:Living people Category:Italian female backstroke swimmers Category:Italian female freestyle swimmers Category:21st-century Italian sportswomen Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic swimmers for Italy Category:Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Category:Italian people of Nigerian descent