Italy Names 32 Swimmers For The 2025 European Short Course Championships

EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP

• 2-7 December 2025
• Lublin (POL)
• SCM (25 meters)
• meet site

Italy has unveiled a 32-swimmer roster for the 2025 European Short Course Championships, taking place in Lublin, Poland, from December 2–7. The squad features 12 women and 20 men, blending seasoned global medalists with a new wave of emerging talent.

Leading the delegation are Italy’s World Championship podium finishers from Singapore: Simone Cerasuolo (50 breast gold), Thomas Ceccon (100 back silver, 50 fly bronze), Simona Quadarella (1500 free silver), and Nicolo Martinenghi (100 breast silver). Alongside these established names, Italy continues to promote its rising generation, including sprinters Carlos D’Ambrosio and Sara Curtis, symbols of the program’s accelerating renewal.

Sara Curtis’ NCAA Debut at the University of Virginia

A highlight for international fans is the presence of Sara Curtis, now a freshman at the University of Virginia, who has already impressed in her first NCAA outings.

At the October dual meet between Virginia and North Carolina, Curtis delivered one of the standout sprint performances of the early NCAA season. In a 50-yard freestyle time trial, she blasted a 21.18, immediately signaling her ability to transition into yards racing at elite collegiate level. Her swim places her in the orbit of NCAA-title contention and underscores the athletic depth she brings to Italy’s roster for Lublin.

Her early weeks in Charlottesville have put her on the radar of American swimming enthusiasts, who value the NCAA as a proving ground—making Curtis one of the most internationally watched Italian rookies heading into the winter championship season.

Seven Italians to Make Their Senior National Team Debut

Italy’s roster also features seven first-time senior call-ups: Alessandra Mao (14), Agata Maria Ambler, Irene Burato, Paola Borrelli, Giovanni Guatti, Francesco Lazzari, and Gabriele Mancini. Captains Silvia Di Pietro and Lorenzo Zazzeri will lead the delegation.

Alessandra Mao, is the youngest member of the Italian delegation at just 14 years old. Mao enters her first senior international championship after a sensational breakout summer at the 2025 World Junior Championships in Otopeni, where she stunned the field with a 1:57.00 in the 200 freestyle to win bronze.

The performance was historic on multiple fronts: Mao became the second-fastest Italian woman of all time in the event — behind only Federica Pellegrini’s legendary 1:52.98 world record swim from Rome 2009 — and erased several age-group national records that had stood since Pellegrini’s early career.

Her 1:57.00 also placed her third-fastest performer in history among 14-year-olds in long course, trailing only Summer McIntosh (1:55.74) and Ai Yanhan (1:56.46). Across the week in Romania, Mao collected three bronze medals (200 free, 4×200 free, mixed 4×100 free), set multiple Italian Records (Girls, Juniors, Cadette), and produced personal bests in every event she swam — a trajectory that makes her one of the most exciting teenage prospects in Europe heading into Lublin.

Butini’s Perspective

Technical director Cesare Butini emphasized that Lublin represents the first major international benchmark of a demanding season, which will continue with the 2026 European Championships in Paris and the Mediterranean Games in Taranto. The staff’s strategy remains clear: continue the generational transition while maintaining Italy’s relay strength and gradually shaping the team toward Los Angeles 2028.

At the last edition in Otopeni (2023), Italy finished with 22 medals (7 gold, 12 silver, 3 bronze), second only to Great Britain in the overall table.

Italy Roster – Full Team For Lublin

WOMEN

1. Lisa Angiolini ,
2. Sara Curtis
3. Silvia Di Pietro
4. Simona Quadarella
5. Costanza Cocconcelli
6. Alessandra Mao
7. Emma Virginia Menicucci
8. Paola Borrelli
9.  Agata Maria Ambler
10. Anita Gastaldi
11. Irene Burato
12. Anna Chiara Mascolo

MEN

1. Christian Bacico
2. Federico Burdisso
3. Michele Busa
4. Thomas Ceccon
5.  Simone Cerasuolo
6. Carlos D’Ambrosio
7. Marco De Tullio
8.  Leonardo Deplano
9.  Manuel Frigo
10. Giovanni Guatti
11.  Francesco Lazzari
12. Gabriele Mancini
13. Christian Mantegazza
14.  Nicolo Martinenghi
15. Filippo Megli
16. Lorenzo Mora
17.  Alberto Razzetti
18.  Simone Stefanì
19. Lorenzo Zazzeri
20.  Ludovico Blu Art Viberti