FLASH! Noe Ponti Thrashes World Record in 50 Fly to 21.50
Mornings in Shanghai and Singapore seem to suit Noe Ponti. Either that, or the Swiss fastman is just so eager to the unleash the fast swimming he knows he holds within that he sees no need to wait for finals.
For the second time in three World Aquatics World Cup stops, Ponti popped a world record in the men’s 50 butterfly in prelims Saturday, gouging his mark to 21.50 seconds.
Ponti now owns the three fastest swims of all time and five of the top nine. In Shanghai, he went 21.67 in prelims to erase a mark jointly held by Brazilian Nicholas Santos from 2018 and Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo in 2021. Ponti very nearly downed that with a time of 21.68 in finals.
He was twice faster than 21.88 in winning the event at the Incheon stop and will try to better his time at night in Singapore.
A look at the splits in his recent swims:
21.50 – 9.86 – 11.65
21.67 – 9.95 – 11.72
21.68 – 9.96 – 11.72
21.76 – 10.08 – 11.68
Saturday, Ponti wasn’t the only one feeling fast in prelims. Nyls Korstanje brushed within .01 of his Dutch record by going 21.97, threatening the mark he set in Shanghai. In home waters, Tzen Wei Teong blasted through the 22-second barrier, out in 9.99 and setting a Singaporean record of 21.98. He twice went 22.01 at the 2022 World Short Course Championships.
The top performances all-time in the event:
- 21.50 Noe Ponti (Switzerland), World Cup Singapore, 2 November 2024
- 21.67 Noe Ponti (Switzerland), World Cup Shanghai, 20 October 2024 (prelims)
- 21.68 Noe Ponti (Switzerland), World Cup Shanghai, 20 October 2024 (finals)
- =21.75 Szebasztian Szabo (Hungary), European SC Championships, 6 November 2021
- =21.75 Nicholas Santos (Brazil), World Cup Budapest, 6 October 2018
- 21.76 Noe Ponti (Switzerland), World Cup Incheon, 26 October 2024
- =21.78 Nicholas Santos (Brazil), World SC Championships, 14 December 2022
- =21.78 Nicholas Santos (Brazil), ISL Match 9 Budapest, 10 November 2020
- 21.79 Noe Ponti (Switzerland), European SC Championships, 9 December 2023
- =21.80 Steffen Diebler (Germany), World Cup, November 2009
- =21.80 Nicholas Santos (Brazil), ISL Semifinal 2, 16 November 2020