Italnuoto dreams at European Championships: Sara Curtis d'gold and silver, Quadarella and Cerasuolo also rejoice

Historic Sunday for Italy’s water polo team, which collected medals at the European Short Course Championships. In fact, three gold, one silver and three bronze medals arrive on the same day. To become continental champions, in particular, are in their respective categories Simone Cerasuolo (in the 50 breaststroke), Simona Quadarella (in the 1500 freestyle) and especially Sara Curtis (in the 50 backstroke), who is instead splendid second in the 50 freestyle. Finally, they conclude their finals in third place Nicolò Martinenghi (again in the 50 breaststroke) Anita Gastaldi (in the 200 butterfly) and Francesco Lazzari (in the 50 backstroke). A string of extraordinary results, confirming how healthy the swimming movement is in Italy.

Marco Enzo Venturini

Sara Curtis packs a small masterpiece and, after the historic bronze in the 100 sl, she is gold in the 50 backstroke with a crazy European record in 25″49 that erases the 25″60 sealed by Kira Toussiant of the Netherlands in 2020 in Budapest, during the ISL. Another stellar performance by the 19-year-old from Savigliano, who passed in 12″50 midway through the race and returned in 12″99. An unmatched pace for all. An exponential growth that of Curtis, who in battery had swum 25″97, becoming the first Italian woman to go under 26″ and erasing the 26″03 sealed for sixth place at the Budapest World Championships. Behind her are France″s Analia Pigree in 25″96 and Maaike De Waard of the Netherlands in 25″97. Half an hour later the sprinter from Piedmont –followed a in Italy by Thomas Maggiora – returned to the water in the final act of the 50 freestyle and put a silver, ex aequo with transalpine Beryl Gastaldello, around her neck, showing all the character of a champion with unlimited boundaries. Curtis flies in 23″41, which is worth a personal best, four hundredths better than the 23″45 sealed in the battery, two hundredths off the Italian record of 23″39 recorded in the first leg of the 4×50 freestyle by Silvia Di Pietro, who was fourth.

World long-distance champion Simone Cerasuolo, on the other hand, climbs to the roof of Europe in the 50 breaststroke, and in his wake is a proud Nicolò Martinenghi in bronze: together on the podium as in Otopeni 2023 when Cera was second and Tete the leader. Arrembante from the start the test of the 22-year-old from Imola, responsive (0.62) in front of everyone already at the passage to the middle of the race (11″54) and then superb at the return (14″13), for an excellent 25″63 that is worth the third personal best ever. Stubborn the 26-year-old from Varese and Olympic champion in the 100, who touches in 25″86. Ideally dividing the two Italians on the podium is only Turkey’s Emre Sakci in 25″85. Simona Quadarella, on the other hand, takes the European title in the 1,500 freestyle in the short pool, which was still missing from her palmares. She does so by dominating the competition from the first to the 8217;last meter and confirming a practically perfect psychophysical state. Without history the final in which the 27-year-old Roman set the autopilot from the start, leading 60 laps at an average of 15″5-15″6, for a triumph in 15’29″93, just twenty-one hundredths away from her Italian record set in the Bremen Cup in 2021. Behind her was German Maya Werner in 15’47″00 and Magyar Ajna Kesely third in 15’51″73.

This Italnuoto of a thousand talents then discovers that of Anita Gastaldi, sparkling bronze in the 200 butterfly with an Italian record. Sensational proof of the 22-year-old from Brà, who swims in 2’04″07 and deprecates the 2’04″20 recorded by Ilaria Bianchi for the 2’silver at the 2019 European Championships in Glasgow. A remarkable improvement, that of the Piedmontese, which lowers by more than a second and piece the personal best of 2’05″69 penned at the last Nico Sapio. The gold is by Ireland’s Ellen Walshe in 2’03″24 and the silver by Denmark’s Helena Bach in 2’03″55. Finally, Francesco Lazzari pulls a piece of bravura out of his hat and is bronze in the 50 backstroke. The 21-year-old from Lombardy swam in 22″76, with a super return in 11″62, two hundredths off the personal best of 22″74 sealed precisely in Genoa last November. Estonian Ralf Tribuntsov won in 22″68, a hundredth faster than Czech Miroslav Knedla, silver in 22″69.