Sara Curtis Posts 27.07 50 Back To Down Kira Toussaint’s European Record by 0.03 Seconds

67th SETTE COLLI TROPHY 

• Friday, June 26th – Sunday, June 28th
• Prelims at 9am local (3am ET)/A-Finals at 7pm local (1pm ET)
• Foro Italico, Rome, Italy
• SwimSwam Preview
• Entry List
• Live Results
• Livestream
• Finals Live Recap

Women’s 50 Backstroke — Final

• World Record — 26.86, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) — 2023
• European Record — 27.10, Kira Toussaint (NED) — 2021
• Meet Record — 27.23, Sara Curtis (ITA) — 2026

Top 3 Finishers

1. Sara Curtis (ITA) — 27.07 **New European Record**
2. Costanza Cocconcelli (ITA) — 27.83
3. Chiara Lamanna (ITA) — 28.28

Lowering her own national record this morning wasn’t enough for the 19-year-old Italian superstar, as Sara Curtis returned to the pool to set a new continental best in the 50 back. Earlier today, Curtis posted a 27.23 to knock exactly a tenth off her previous best of 27.33, a time that was set this April at the Italian Championships. Tonight, she took another 0.16 off her own Italian record. Curtis has now dropped a total of 0.87 seconds in 2026 alone, as she entered the year with a best time of 27.97.

The UVA – based swimmer rises to the #5 performer of all time, surpassing USA’s Regan Smith.

Top 5 Performers in history – 50 back

1. Kaylee McKeown (AUS): 26.86 – 2023 World Swimming Cup – Budapest
2. Katharine Berkoff (USA): 26.97 – 2025 Toyota National Championships
3. Xiang Liu (CHN): 26.98 – 2018 18th Asian Games
4. Jing Zhao (CHN): 27.06 – 2009 World Championships
5. Sara Curtis (ITA): 27.07 – 2026 Sette Colli Trophy

Curtis also recorded the #2 time in the world this season, sitting behind only Katharine Berkoff‘s 26.98 from the Indianapolis Pro Swim Series last week.

While Curtis is done for the day, she still has the 50 free, 100 free, and 50 fly left on her schedule. She is the Italian record holder in both freestyle events.