Duel of the flying fish – Noè Ponti wins his second World Championship medal in Singapore

Anything is possible in the final – that's a kind of mantra for Noè Ponti. And on this Saturday, he's doing everything he can to make the best possible. He starts well, swims the first half of the course better than ever, executes a perfect turn, and sees his race through to the final meter. But swimming alongside him is Frenchman Maxime Grousset, who is fighting back with power and determination. He beats the European record in 49.62 seconds, leaving Ponti with silver in 49.83 seconds.

No one expected this outcome of the race. Grousset is an extremely fast, powerful man, but his muscles become more acidic with increasing distance. He's usually a specialist in the short 50-meter sprint. But on this day, he seems to know no pain. Unlike in the 50-meter race, when he overtook the leading Ponti only in the final stages, this time he leads from start to finish.

Ponti was the clear favorite in this race, but he can handle this second defeat with composure. He swam the Swiss record in both the 50 and 100 meters in the final, and above all, he proved to himself and the world that he's not just among the very best in the short course. He dominated everyone in the 25-meter race last late fall, setting several world records and winning three world championship titles.

But the long track is a different story, and the World Championships in Singapore were also better fielded than those in Budapest last December. Ponti's silver medals are his first at the World Championships in the 50-meter pool, and they are only the 9th and 10th medals for Switzerland. This shows how extraordinary such achievements still are for athletes from this small swimming nation.

The effort behind such feats is hard to imagine. Swimmers spend almost more time in the water than on land. Ponti paddles back and forth in a 50-meter pool countless times, up to 90 kilometers per week, over 3,000 kilometers per year. By the end of his career, the Ticino native will have swum around the world. Like a dolphin ploughing through the oceans.

When Ponti swims, his coach, Massimo Meloni, is always at the poolside. During the first kilometer, when it's time to warm up his muscles, he watches very closely. How easily does Ponti glide through the water? Are his arms still heavy from the previous evening's sprints?

The coach adapts the training content depending on the athlete's condition. He has the dolphin specialist complete the long endurance sessions in the crawl style, while only specific technique training and sprints are swum in the competitive discipline. "If Noè often swam slowly in the dolphin style, it would be detrimental to his technique," says Meloni.

Ponti and his coach share a trusting relationship. "I spend more time with Noè than his parents," says Meloni. And that's not just limited to time at the pool. The two catch up on walks, go out to dinner together, and sometimes Meloni even invites his training group to his home.

Then the coach cooks or assists the swimmers in the kitchen. "I taught Noè how to cook," says Meloni. His mother was one of Italy's best cooks, and the family owns three restaurants, one in Rome and two in Tuscany. Ponti's specialty? Carbonara.

The swimmer is someone who needs to feel comfortable in order to achieve top performances. This became apparent during his stint at a university in the USA in 2021. After a few days of euphoria, Ponti retreated to his room, questioning his move to America, and when he called home, he burst into tears. He had suffered a burnout, flew back to Switzerland after just six weeks, and placed himself under Meloni's wing again.

The fact that the two found each other at all is linked to another low point in Ponti's career. Massimo Baroffio had nurtured him as a youngster and brought him to the international level. Baroffio was caught with cocaine at the Swiss border in 2019 and dismissed without notice from the Locarno club. Ponti hasn't spoken to him since.

He found a new mentor in Meloni. The Italian works as head coach at the national performance center in Tenero. He prescribed higher training volumes for Ponti, thus providing a more solid foundation for maintaining his lightweight swimming style over time. Meloni also places great emphasis on underwater swimming. One session with him covers six kilometers, 800 meters of which are completed underwater.

This is a key to Ponti's success. After the start and turns, the swimmers are allowed to stay underwater for up to 15 meters. They propel themselves forward with wave-like movements, similar to fish. Ponti has mastered these so-called dolphin kicks perfectly; his coach says he's the best underwater swimmer in the world.

When the 24-year-old surfaces, he appears to fly over the water. He keeps his head flat above the water for a relatively long time, thus minimizing drag, and lets his arms glide forward like the wings of a butterfly before diving back into the pool. Images from the underwater cameras at the World Championships demonstrate that this grace also lies beneath considerable strength. Ponti practically grasps the water and thrusts his body forward.

It will be interesting to follow the development of butterfly swimming up to the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. There, the 50-meter sprint will be included in the Olympic program for the first time. At the World Championships in Singapore, Ponti narrowly lost the 50-meter event to French powerhouse Maxime Grousset, who also won the 100-meter event.

Will powerful, broad-shouldered athletes dominate both sprint distances in the future? Or will this distance continue to favor slender, elegant swimmers like Ponti—and did Grousset simply have a moment of glory? Coach Meloni has hired a coach with a background in artistic gymnastics for Ponti's strength training. He places great emphasis on flexibility and manages the weight training in a way that builds strength but minimizes volume and mass. Are there any small adjustments needed with an eye on LA 2028?