Noe Ponti breaks the 50 fly world record in Shanghai; First Swiss world record in almost 40 years

2024 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – SHANGHAI

Swiss swimmer Noe Pontiwho already had a fast weekend in Shanghai, broke through with a new world record in the men’s 50m fly during the preliminary round on Sunday morning, hitting 21.67. The world record swim comes with a $10,000 bonus and is the first world record of this year’s series (albeit). Gretchen Walsh broke one in 100 IM on home soil in America on Friday, coincidental timing).

Ponti’s swim broke the old record shared by Nicholas Santos of Brazil and Szebasztian Szabo from Hungary with a matching 21.75 seconds. Santos swam at the World Cup stop in Budapest in October 2018, while Szabo swam at the European Short Course Championships in Kazan, Russia, on November 21.

Ponti’s swim also breaks Szabo’s European record, Santos’ World Cup record and Ponti’s own Swiss record of 21.79 from the European Championships last December, which itself narrowly missed the world record.

Top 5 Performers of All Time, Men’s 50 SCM Fly

1. Noe PontiSwitzerland, 2024 – 21.67
2. (BIND) Nicholas SantosBrazil, 2018/Szebasztian Szabo, Hungary, 2021 – 21.75
4. Steffen Deibler, Germany, 2010 – 21.80
5. Roland Schoeman, South Africa, 2010 – 21.87

Ponti is the first Swiss swimmer to set a world swimming record in a World Aquatics-recognized event since Dano Halsall set the long-distance world record in the 50-meter free on July 21, 1985 (22.52).

Ponti is the front runner with around three tenths ahead of the Netherlands. Nyls Korstanjewhose split of 21.96 breaks his own Dutch record of 22.25 from 2022. This makes Korstanje only the 9th man in history to break 22 seconds in this event.

Ponti previously placed third in the 200 IM with a time of 1:51.78 and won the 100-meter dash with a time of 48.40. Both were new Swiss records and the latter is both a World Cup and European record.

He was also supposed to swim the 200 meters free on Sunday, but failed in the race.