Sara Curtis, a 'Lamine Yamal phenomenon' who is a voice against racism in Italy: "Are my records Nigerian? It disgusts me."

However, with such grace, she emerged from the water, aware that she would have more opportunities and used the press to deliver her message. Once again, her successes are met with "residual" but "latent" racist comments in an Italy closely watched by the European Union. "Some people write that my Italian records are Nigerian. It disgusts me. These people should consult the Constitution and know that one of the requirements for citizenship is having an Italian parent. My father is Italian, and my mother was born in Nigeria, where I have never been, but will one day. Coming from two cultures is my wealth," she reiterated, because this is not the first time Curtis has had to address these comments, which are not new in Italy.

In 2022, Paola Egonu, one of the country's greatest volleyball players, whose parents are Nigerian, decided to leave the national team in the face of racist insults. Footballer Mario Balotelli also received racist insults during his time with the national team. The far right governs a country that is trying to restrict the entry of immigrants, and a law from the 1990s prohibiting a child born in Italy from having Italian nationality until the age of 18 if both parents were born outside the country has yet to be changed.

"Sara has changed. Before, she said she didn't want to pay attention to them, that it was better to ignore them, but now she won't shut up," explain sources close to the Italian national team.

My father is Italian and my mother is from Nigeria: my wealth, the two cultures”

Curtis's personal story is repeated daily in Italy, and more and more children of immigrants are achieving sporting excellence. Vicenzo is his Italian father, who works as a truck driver; his mother, Helen, a Nigerian, met him while running a market stall in Turin, and they both moved to Savigliano. These are Curtis's foundations, as he explains to La Vanguardia: "My parents always taught me their best side. They are role models for me, especially my mother. They always paid for me, bought me everything, they are always there for me. They are the most important part of me."

When Curtis joined her first swimming club at nine years old, her coach until recently, Thomas Maggiora, realized within five seconds that she was a diamond in the rough. He asked her to swim 300 meters. She dove in and completed a 15-meter underwater dive without moving her body. She never forgot that image.

My parents are examples, they always taught me their best version”

Curtis had never experienced racism as a child. In fact, ten classmates attended her school, and only one of them had an Italian father and mother. She grew up humble and mixed, eating her mother's Nigerian stews. "She's the new generation coming to Italy, multicultural, brazen, unashamed, self-confident, and unconcerned with what others might say. Like Lamine Yamal in Spain , they're similar," the same sources explain.

Politicians in Italy hold her up as a role model ("it's a way of saying that these are the good immigrants," they clarify) and she feels like "a role model, an icon for children."

In the water, she's poised to be one of the favorites in Los Angeles, her big goal, in the 50m and 100m freestyle, and for Italy, she's a key player in the 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m medley, and mixed medley relays. The 50m challenge begins this Saturday.

In September, she'll leave Italy. A decision she's made to continue "progressing as a person, in swimming and in her studies, but it was a difficult decision for me because of my family." The University of Virginia in the United States, where champions Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh train, awaits her with open arms. "I like her mentality," says Curtis, the voice of Italy and the new diva of the pool.