The Army Triumphs at the National Swimming Championships: 36 Medals and Historic Records in Riccione

A shower of medals, broken records, and outstanding performances. At the recently concluded Italian National Swimming Championships in Riccione, the Army athletes wrote an extraordinary page of sport and national pride. No less than 36 times the champions with stars climbed the podium, bringing home a clear bounty: 22 gold medals, 5 silver, and 9 bronze. Staggering numbers, but not only that: these Championships have consecrated the Army Sports Group as a true talent factory and an absolute protagonist of Italian swimming.

Among the names that shone the most is certainly that of the very young C.le VFP4 Sara Curtis. The 18-year-old from Piedmont, already a protagonist at the Paris 2024 Olympics with the 4x100 freestyle relay, impressed with maturity, determination, and class. In Riccione, she won four gold medals: in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, in the 50 m backstroke, and in the women's 4x100 freestyle relay. But above all, she rewrote history, setting the new Italian record in the 100 m freestyle and beating none other than the legend Federica Pellegrini's record. Not satisfied, she then improved her own record in the 50 m freestyle, stopping the clock at 24"43: it's the second-best performance in the world this year, just one hundredth of a second from the time of Belgian Florine Gaspard.

Golden Relays and Champion Individualities

Alongside Sara Curtis, in the golden relay, other stars of the Army: C.le Magg. VFP4 Sofia Morini, C.le Magg. VFP4 Emma Virginia Menicucci, and Grd. Sc. Giulia Verona. The quartet also dominated in the 4x200 freestyle, confirming a perfect chemistry and excellent preparation. Among the male ranks, another outstanding performance came from the 4x100 freestyle relay: with C.le VFP4 Christian Bacico, Grd. Lorenzo Zazzeri, Grd. Federico Burdisso, and Grd. Alessandro Pinzuti. For them too, a gold medal and a new Italian record.

Christian Bacico was one of the stars of the 2025 Championships, winning three golds in the 50, 100, and 200 m backstroke. A hat-trick that consecrates the 19-year-old from Lombardy among the new phenomena of Italian swimming. "These are tough days, but I managed to hold on," he said emotionally after the victory in the 200 backstroke. "I didn't expect to win three absolute Italian titles and for this, I am proud. I dedicate these successes to my coach Verika and my family."

Grd. Federico Burdisso was no less, resuming his winning path in the 100 m butterfly, a race in which he was an Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo. With an intelligent swim and the usual explosive finish, he closed in 51"83 ahead of a resurgent Alberto Razzetti. For Burdisso, it's a return to the top, also the result of his recent return to training with Simone Palombi, the coach with whom he had already written important pages.

Between Promises and Veterans, the Value of the Team

On the top step of the podium also C.le Magg. VFP4 Francesca Fangio, first in the 200 breaststroke, C.le Magg. VFP4 Davide Marchello, who won the 800 m freestyle, and Grd. Pier Andrea Matteazzi, gold in the 400 m medley. Results that confirm the value and depth of the Army team.

But the 2025 Riccione Championships offered much more than just a ranking. They told stories of redemption, sacrifice, and passion. Like that of Anita Gastaldi, the new queen of the 100 backstroke, who after second place in the 200 medley clinched the Italian title with a personal best of 1'00"46. Or that of Paola Borrelli, winner in the 200 butterfly with a personal best of 2'08"94, confirming a talent still to be fully explored.

And then the emotion of Carlotta Zofkova's farewell to competitions, greeted by the Riccione audience with a moving applause. A symbolic moment that united the past, present, and future of Italian swimming.

Among the new faces promising to make their way, also Carlos D’Ambrosio, who triumphed in the 200 freestyle in 1'46"32, demonstrating maturity and composure. "A victory achieved with the head and heart, more than with physical condition," declared the athlete from Vicenza of the Fiamme Gialle, recovering from a flu but still able to prevail over renowned names like Filippo Megli and Marco De Tullio.

The Army Sports Group, once again, confirms itself among the excellences of Italian sport. Not just a nursery of champions, but a structure that combines high athletic performance with the values of military discipline: commitment, sacrifice, team spirit. The 2025 Italian National Swimming Championships thus close under the sign of the Army: 36 medals that speak of sweat and talent, of young promises already a reality, of broken records and new horizons to explore.