Switzerland’s Noe Ponti took the 50m butterfly into another stratosphere with a 21.32 in the final on Wednesday night at the Duna Arena in Budapest.
Regan Smith of the United States opened up the second night of finals with a gold medal in the 100m backstroke at 54.55, lowering Kaylee McKeown’s championship record of 55.03 from Melbourne 2022.
Smith has been undefeated this year in short course meters, winning all three World Cup races in the fall and backing those up with World Short Course gold to close out the year. Smith received an extra $10,000 for the “double crown.”
“I’m really happy with this Wednesday,” Smith said. “I’m grateful for the gold medal, I had a World Cup series and I enjoyed that and continued enjoying it here. I don’t care about expectations and records, I only want to have fun, enjoy swimming after working so hard before and after the World Cup.”
It’s been a successful 2024 for Smith, who won three silver medals at the Paris Olympics as well as the world record in this event in both short course and long course meters. Smith scored a 1-2 finish with fellow American Katharine Berkoff (54.93), who broke 55 for the first time to put herself fifth on the all-time list. Berkoff backed up her bronze from Paris 2024 and from Abu Dhabi 2021 as she was also on the 4x100m freestyle relay team that broke the world record on Tuesday night.
“It was good!” Berkoff said. “I had pretty low expectations. Coming off a big break, so I am really happy with how I did today!”
This is the eighth gold medal at the World Short Course Championships for the United States in the women’s 100m backstroke.
Canada’s Ingrid Wilm (55.75) won bronze for the second straight championships, matching her joint bronze from Melbourne 2022 as she gave Canada its fifth medal of the championships thus far.
“I am really happy with this medal. I came with no expectations at all, just wanted to have fun. It is a wonderful surprise and really boosts my confidence going into the rest of the night.”
Eighteen-year-old Miron Lifintsev of the Neutral Athletes pulled the upset in winning the 100m backstroke over hometown favorite Hubert Kos of Hungary on Wednesday night at the Duna Arena in Budapest.
Lifintsev, who is racing in his first World Championships, broke the world junior record to win gold at 48.76 over the Olympic 200m champion Kos (48.79). Kos led at 75 meters, and seemingly out-kicked Lifintsev underwater on the last 25m, but Lifintsev found something else, and took Kliment Kolesnikov’s world junior record of 48.90 with him. Lifintsev is now fourth all-time with this swim.
Kos, the favorite coming in, won silver. It’s the first medal of the championships for Hungary as he will be a big favorite in the 200m backstroke on Sunday.
“I said yesterday that I wanted to go out a bit faster,” Kos said, who is now fifth all-time. “I was able to do that so I am happy with it. I died a little bit at the end, but I am happy with the whole thing overall. I just wanted to get a good time and I did.
“I knew I had to swim my own race and I was able to do that, so I am happy with it. A silver medal is still a silver medal so we’ll take it. If someone had told me before the race that I could get a silver medal in the 100 back, I would have taken that for sure.”
Kos, who swims for coach Bob Bowman at the University of Texas in the United States, had been looking forward to these championships all year with the opportunity to be one of the stars for the Hungarian team as the host nation.
“It’s really an honor to represent the country and to swim in front of a Hungarian audience,” Kos said. “I enjoy every opportunity I have to do that.”
The bronze went to Poland’s Kacper Stokowski (49.16), who set the Polish record in the process for the country’s second medal of the championships.
“I had a better race in me for sure, but it’s OK,” Stokowski said. “It wasn’t perfect, I was super long on both glides going into the turn and the finish was super long. I almost stopped, but you know it’s backstroke and everything has to be perfect.
“I am happy with the bronze medal. Two medals in two days for Team Poland. You have to take advantage of this momentum, and keep pushing every day. I am looking forward to my 50 back tomorrow. It’s so good to be back.”
After setting the world record twice yesterday, 21-year-old Gretchen Walsh of the United States followed up with the World title in the 50m butterfly with a 24.01. After the 50m butterfly world record sat dormant for 15 years, Walsh set the three fastest times in history across the three rounds of the event, becoming the first to break 24 last night in the semis.
Walsh couldn’t break the record for a third time, but it’s the second fastest time in history, and no one has gone faster. It’s the first World Short Course gold medal individually for her as this is the fifth gold for the United States in this event after Torri Huske won in 2022 and Jenny Thompson won in 1999, 2000, and 2004.
“It’s really cool to be a part of the history of the event,” Walsh said. “I know it was the longest held record title until the first race. It’s great to beat barriers. I’m really proud of all the times I have put up in the 50 fly over the last two days. I am hoping to perfect that race more and more as I do more short-course meters. I am so happy, so over the moon about everything I accomplished so far.”
France’s Beryl Gastaldello (24.43) swam to a lifetime best in winning silver as she is now fourth on the all-time list at age 29.
“I’m very satisfied as this is my best time,” Gastaldello said. “I tried to make the fewest mistakes possible and push to the wall with full gear. I’m really content with this silver. I’m doing swimming as this is my passion and my goal is to try do develop myself every day.”
Australia’s Alexandria Perkins (24.68) broke through in a big way for the bronze medal in a new Oceania record. It’s the first World Short Course medal of her career, and the first individual medal for her at age 24 as Perkins won a myriad of relay medals at the World Long Course Championships.
After an influx of world records on night one, Switzerland’s Noe Ponti broke the lone world record of the day on Wednesday at the Duna Arena at the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m) with a massive 21.32 in the finals of the 50m butterfly.
After setting the world record twice this year at the World Cup, and again in the semi-finals last night, Ponti saved his best swim for last as he took another tenth off the record, taking the record from 21.75 at the start of the year, to 21.67 in October, to 21.50 in November, to 21.43 last night, and 21.32 tonight.
“Everyone was expecting a big time from me, and everyone was expecting me to win,” Ponti said. “I just had to try to focus, even if it’s not easy. It’s easy to say but not easy to do.
“I (needed) to think about my race, as I did the previous times, and I was able to do so, and I’m really happy about it. I think it shows me that I am growing as an athlete and as a person so that’s very important.
The swim earned Ponti another $25,000 for the record, and another $10,000 for the “double crown” as he was undefeated at the World Cup and closed out the year with yet another win at the World Short Course Championships.
It was a huge onslaught for Ponti, who had a disappointing fourth place finish at this summer’s Olympics in Paris in the 100m butterfly.
“This past summer it went well, but not good enough,” Ponti said. “I lost and now I was able to get my redemption and win it in the 50 fly at least. But it’s still a world title and a world record so i’m the fastest man ever in the 50 fly.
“I am really stoked about it, but I’m pretty relaxed now and ready for the next races to come. I did it (in the 50 fly) and the 100m is going to be nice. 100 fly is going to be a great battle. Ilya Kharun I think is going to be very strong.
Ponti, age 23, has been huge for swimming in Switzerland, as the nation had never won an Olympic medal in swimming before Tokyo 2020. Now the nation has three medals at the Games, and a world record holder in Ponti.
Ponti, coached by Massimo Meloni and Andrea Mercuri upgraded his silver from Melbourne 2022 to gold in Budapest 2024.
“I am happy that I was able to win this race; maybe I am not going to be the one who breaks the 21 barrier, but it’s possible,” Ponti said. “Or maybe Ilya (Kharun) or Nyls (Korstanje) or one of the other guys does it first, but I think it is possible to break 21. Not this year for sure, but over the next couple of years we are going to get closer; me and the other guys and that’s amazing.”
Canada’s Ilya Kharun broke the Americas record with his silver medal swim at 21.67 as the Olympic bronze medalist from the 100m and 200m moved up to third all-time.
Nyls Korstanje (21.68), who was second behind Ponti at each of the three World Cup stops, won the bronze for the Netherlands for the first individual medal of his career at age 25.
“I was just really hopeful,” Korstanje said. “I had a plan and I stuck with the plan. I’m really glad that I was top 3 and got the medal
“Noe is pushing me and I am pushing him. I was hoping to be swimming times that Noe hit here, and I think I could have if I hit everything perfectly. Noe just hit everything more perfectly.
“I have gotten fourth and fifth a lot so making the podium really means a lot to me, and now the pressure is off me for the 100 fly. I will stick to the plan and swim my race.”
It was one of the fastest fields ever assembled with six of the all-time top 20 in the field as Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo (22.00) finished fourth ahead of Italy’s Michele Busa (22.01) and Grigori Pekarski (22.06) of the Neutral Athletes.
Australia’s Lani Pallister led from start to finish in the fastest heat of the 800m freestyle on Wednesday night with a new championship record of 8:01.95, moving herself up to sixth on the all-time list.
Pallister took down Li Bingjie’s 8:02.90 from Abu Dhabi 2021 as Pallister defended her title from Melbourne 2022. She is the second athlete to defend this event at the World Short Course Championships after Chen Hua won three times in 1999, 2000, and 2002.
Pallister, coached by her mother Janelle Elford, improved on her sixth place finish at the Paris Olympics.
“I have a lot to thank my mum for,” Pallister said. “I am really happy to end 2024 the way it’s going. After the 400 yesterday, I thought I might crack. I am struggling a bit with confidence. I wanted to see how close I could go to 8:00. I am more than happy.”
The race for silver was tight as Germany’s Isabel Gose (8:05.42) won ahead of American Katie Grimes (8:05.90).
Gose, coached by Bernd Berkhahn, swam to a new national record from lane eight to put herself 12th on the all-time list.
“I still have to practice to trust myself, that I race can race with the front of the race, but it went much better today and I am happy with this result,” Gose said.
Grimes won bronze for her best time, ahead of Olympic bronze medalist Paige Madden (8:07.22).
“Overall, I’m satisfied with my performance,” Grimes said. “I didn’t expect this time, I always want to swim better, still, I’m glad that we have such a good team and I can be part of it.”
The Neutral Athletes team of Miron Lifintsev (22.39), Kirill Prigoda (24.94), Arina Surkova (24.43), and Daria Trofimova (23.60) swam 1:35.36 in closing the second night of swimming from the Duna Arena at the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest, Hungary. The 1:35.15 set by the United States in 2022 will live another day as the American team wound up with the bronze at 1:36.20 behind Canada’s silver at 1:35.94.
Canada continued its strong showing at these Championships with its seventh medal in two days with the team of Kylie Masse (25.87), Finlay Knox (25.53), Ilya Kharun (20.73) and Ingrid Wilm (23.81) winning silver.
“The relay was really fun,” Kharun said. “I was so ready for that, cause I had the 50 to warm up before. I showed everyone what I can do, I dipped under the 21 mark. There is more to come for sure.”
The Americans won the tenth medal for the team with Shaine Casas (22.85), Michael Andrew (25.29), Regan Smith (24.90), and Katharine Berkoff (23.16) winning bronze. Surprisingly, the team left world record holder Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass off the relay, who had other individual events on the night.
