A flash of lightning in the swimming pool at Riccione’s Stadio del Nuoto. On the opening day of the fourth Italian Open Championships, Sara Curtis took centre stage.

The 17-year-old from Piedmont clocked the fastest time in the 50 freestyle heats: 24''56, below the time limit of 24''6 which led to an individual quota berth for the Olympic Games.

The Italian improved upon the Italian record set by Silvia Di Pietro, who had swum 24''72 on 15 August 2022 at the European Championships in Rome, registering a new European junior record. By Thursday, March 7th, Sara Curtis (photo Federnuoto - Giorgio Scala and Andrea Masini / DBM) had already surpassed Federica Pellegrini's Italian record of 54.40 in the cadet class, set during the Italian Championships in Livorno on March 13th, 2004, with a new time of 54.31.

In the evening, Alessandro Ragaini also sealed his ticket to Paris.

The 17-year-old from the Marche region won the Italian title in the 200 freestyle, notching up a time of 1'45"83 (time limit 1'45"8). For him, as for Curtis, this will be the first Olympic experience of his career.