Italian teenager Sara Curtis breaks 50m backstroke world record at European championships
Italian teenager Sara Curtis broke the women鈥檚 50m backstroke world record at the European championships in Paris, clocking 26.63 seconds in her semi-final. This time bettered the previous record set by Australia鈥檚 Kaylee McKeown by 0.23 seconds. Curtis, 19, had previously won bronze in the women鈥檚 100m freestyle and will compete in the 50m back final. She also holds the short-course European record in the event. In other events, Sweden鈥檚 Sarah Sjostrom won her sixth European 50m butterfly title, securing her 18th European title overall. Romanian David Popovici claimed his third consecutive European 100m freestyle title with a championship record of 46.56 seconds. Germany鈥檚 Johannes Liebmann set a continental record to win the men鈥檚 800m freestyle, while Hungary鈥檚 Hubert Kos added the European men鈥檚 200m backstroke gold to his Olympic and world titles. Britain鈥檚 Angharad Evans won her first European title in the women鈥檚 100m breaststroke, and Ireland鈥檚 Ellen Walshe secured her first major long-course title in the 400m medley. Marrit Steenbergen earned her second gold of the week and eighth European title in the women鈥檚 4x100m free relay.
