Switzerland’s Noe Ponti took the 50m butterfly into another stratosphere with a 21.32 in the World Aquatics Swimming World Championships final on Wednesday night at the Duna Arena in Budapest.
It was the third time this year that the 23-year-old lowered his own world record in the 50m butterfly, setting the fourth world record of the meet on the first day of the World Short Course Championships.
Ponti’s 21.43 comes off his two world records from the World Cup earlier this season as the world record started out this year at 21.75.
“It was a nice race,” Ponti said. “I hope that I can swim as many world records as I want. The important thing is to swim fast tomorrow, because I know these guys will be ready.”
In each of Ponti’s World Cup wins earlier this year, Nyls Korstanje of the Netherlands was right beside him in second. For Thursday night’s final, Korstanje is the second seed at 21.81.