Italy Blasts World Record in Mixed 200 Freestyle Relay at European Championships
Italy claimed its third relay title of the European Short Course Championships on Thursday, this latest crown captured via a world record. The Italians produced a time of 1:27.26 in the mixed 200-meter freestyle relay, an effort that bettered the previous standard of 1:27.33, set by France in 2022.
Leonardo Deplano jumpstarted the Italian squad, as he split 20.97 for the opening 50 meters. Lorenzo Zazzeri followed with a split of 20.51, while Silvia Di Pietro checked in with a 23.07 mark for the third leg. Sara Curtis handled the anchor leg and split 22.71, the fastest female split in the field. Curtis was also the anchor of the mixed 200 medley relay, which secured the gold medal on Wednesday night.
Italy sat in third place after the opening leg, as Croatia’s Jere Hribar opened in 20.70 and Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo led off in 20.93. But Italy was in the lead after Zazzeri concluded his leg, setting up Di Pietro and Curtis to complete the record swim.
Deplano and Zazzeri will return to competition on Friday for the prelims of the 100 freestyle while Curtis will also race in the 100 freestyle on the women’s side. Curtis is a freshman at the University of Virginia and will play a key role in the Cavaliers’ pursuit of a sixth consecutive NCAA championship. No women’s program has ever won six straight team titles.
