Italian swim queen Federica
Pellegrini on Wednesday hailed the exploits of two of her young
successors, 14-year-old Alessandra Mao and 18-year-old Sara
Curtis, who have broken her longstanding Italian 200m and 100m
freestyle records respectively.
"Congratulations!!! Seeing the women's fast freestyle swimming
go so high is truly beautiful!!! Well done girls!!!", said the
2008 200m freestyle Olympic champion and six-time world champion
on Instagram.
Pellegrini, 36, retired from active competition in 2021 and last
year had her first baby with her former coach Matteo Giunta.
She was nicknamed "La Divina" ("The Divine One") by Italian
sport journalists.
Mao, from Veneto, is aged just 14 years and one month.
Curtis, who has a Nigerian mother, took 17 hundredths of a
second off Pellegrini's 100m time.
photo: Mao
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