Switzerland’s Noe Ponti moved to the top of the all-time rankings in the 50m butterfly on Sunday morning in Shanghai, breaking the world record at 21.67 in the heats and following that up with a 21.68 in the final.

Ponti, age 23, broke the first world record of his career after he was fourth in Paris in the 100m butterfly final, as his previous lifetime best was 21.79 from last year’s European Championships.

“I didn’t expect it, and I couldn’t be happier,” Ponti said. “After seeing how fast I swam the 100 fly and the 100 IM, I knew that I could get very close to the world record, but breaking it, you never know. I am happy that I did it this morning, so now I don’t have to think about it again.

“The last time I swam this event was in April, a 21.9. Last year at the Europeans I missed the world record by .04 of a second. I am going to think about one leg at a time, we don’t know what’s going to happen in Seoul and Singapore. Right now I am swimming well in Shanghai and tonight I am only swimming the 50 fly.”

Ponti broke the world record of 21.75 that was held jointly by Brazil’s Nicholas Santos and Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo.

“I am happy, I swam two perfect 50’s today,” Ponti said. “Tonight I was just 0.01 from my new world record. What can I say? I felt pretty much the same tonight as I did in the prelims. In the first 25 those guys were right there and I knew I had to swim really fast at the finish. I was swimming my own race and not focused on the others. I just swam as fast as I could.”

Ponti won tonight’s final ahead of Nyls Korstanje (22.00) of the Netherlands.

Shanghai’s very own Tang Qianting broke the Asian record in the 50m breaststroke, swimming 28.76 to move up to third all-time after she swam 28.82 in September to hold the previous record. Tang, age 20, dominated the field by nearly a full second over Italy’s Benedetta Pilato (29.73).

Tang, a native of Shanghai, who grew up racing in this facility, expressed gratitude in winning both the 100m and 50m breaststroke this weekend as the Olympic silver medalist broke two Asian records.

“I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to my friends and the audience who have come all the way to support me throughout this whole journey,” Tang said. “As I approach the final competition at this stop, I truly appreciate everyone’s encouragement and belief in me. I hope I can give you even more surprises and exciting moments as I try my best in the following stops. Let’s create unique and memorable moments together.”

After the first weekend of the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, Kate Douglass of the United States is leading the overall World Cup standings with 59.1 points as she won the 200m IM final on Sunday night at 2:04.09 in the final race of the weekend.

Douglass was off her best time of 2:02.12 from the 2022 World Swimming Championships (25m) but she will have two more opportunities to chase the 2:01.86 world record held by Katinka Hosszu next week in Incheon, and the following weekend in Singapore. The Olympic silver medalist won over China’s Yu Yiting (2:05.39).

“That was definitely not my best race,” Douglass said. “I was not feeling good, I was slow like I was swimming through mud. I was considering scratching it today just because I didn’t want to swim it. I gave it my all, and I am proud of my effort. I am not sure I am in shape to swim a 200 IM right now. I think the 50s and the 100s are easier to fake right now and honestly I look forward to swimming something else. But a 200 IM, I really need to be in pretty good shape to finish that well. When I am not in my best shape I can still rip a 50 or a 100 but not so for the 200.

“It was my first time in China, and I wish that I could see more of the city but I am excited for all the travel we have coming.”

Douglass currently leads the overall World Cup standings by 0.1 points over fellow American Regan Smith.

“I am happy with [winning the Shanghai stop]. Obviously it was really tight between me and Regan. I think it’s kind of fun that we were battling out for the title. I think we both had a great week so far,” Douglass said.

Smith won the 200m backstroke on Sunday at 2:00.42 as she moved up to 10th all-time with the swim, taking the win over Anastasiya Shkurdai (2:01.31) and fellow American Beata Nelson (2:02.56).

Smith was second in the overall points standings with 59 points.

“It was a good race, but it was a pretty close race,” Smith said. “I was pushed the whole time which I really enjoyed. It’s good to practice racing. I am happy with the time as well. I love World Cup racing. It's been so great, the atmosphere has been amazing, the fans have been awesome. It’s been a very positive experience.”

The men’s standings were won by France’s Leon Marchand, who won his pet event, the 400m IM, at 4:00.03. It was Marchand’s first bit of racing since the 2024 Olympics where he had a perfect showing in winning four individual gold medals in his home nation. Marchand was pushed every step of the way tonight in the 400m IM, holding off Italy’s Alberto Razzetti (4:01.51) on the freestyle leg.

“This is the longest race I have swum since Paris,” Marchand said. “I forgot how much the 400 IM hurts. I think I went out too hard on my fly segment. It’s about working on the nuances of each of my strokes and the timing of my races. I’m pushing my body and it’s been a real test racing all of these guys. But that’s what we are here for.”

Marchand scored 58.3 points over Ponti (56.8) and China’s Qin Haiyang (56.7).

“I had such a great time in Shanghai,” Marchand said. “I have enjoyed getting back into racing after Paris. I am thankful and grateful to the Chinese people for coming to watch all of the athletes swim.”

Marchand and Qin were set to clash in the 200m breaststroke final as the Olympic champion and long course world record holder missed the opportunity to do so in Paris, when Qin missed the final.

However, it was neither Marchand nor Qin who touched the wall first in Shanghai.

Australia’s Joshua Yong won the event at 2:01.67 to move up to 11th all-time as Qin was second (2:01.92) and Marchand was fourth (2:02.99) behind Caspar Corbeau (2:02.42).

I felt it was a really exciting race and I tried my best, I am really happy with the result. This is a really good testimony of my strength. I hope that I can perform better in the following races at the next world cup events
By Joshua Yong

“In the 200 breast I didn’t have much time to recover,” Marchand said. “My legs were cooked, they were dead. But it’s fine, it was a good double and a good practice for me. This afternoon was a bit tough for me because I was very tired from this whole week, jet lag from the travel. I visited Shanghai a lot, I went to the French neighborhood and also “Old Shanghai” and visited other parts of this beautiful city.”

Great Britain’s Duncan Scott was fourth in the overall standings with 56.4 points as he won the 200m freestyle at 1:40.92 over the likes of Australia’s Edward Sommerville (1:42.14) and Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys (1:42.35).

“It was tough but I am really happy with that result,” Scott said. “There were some young guns in the race, including those two Australians who are really young. Danas and Jimmy (Guy), who I have been racing for so many years, pushed me. I last raced short course meters last year at the European Short Course championships swimming the 200 IM and 400 IM, but maybe 2021 for the 200m freestyle. I felt better on day one than I did today, I am looking forward to the next three days off.

“The Shanghai crowd has been phenomenal. As athletes I think we have absolutely loved it. It’s my first time fully engaging in the world cup circuit and I am loving it.”

South Africa’s Pieter Coetze took the win in the 100m backstroke at 49.35 as he broke the African record, lowering his own 49.60 from 2022 as he took down Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon in the process (50.03).

“It felt really good,” Coetze said. “To race Thomas (Ceccon) and get the win was really great. I think my speed was on tonight and I believe that my underwaters have improved a lot. I could only see the guys on either side of me. With Thomas swimming in the outside lanes you never know what can happen.

Honestly short course is much easier than long course. I don’t really race short course all that often, probably the last time was two years ago in Melbourne. I am really enjoying this.
By Pieter Coetze

Hong Kong, China’s Siobhan Haughey is also in the mix of the overall World Cup title with her win in the 100m freestyle at 51.89 as she is third overall with 53.2 points. The 100m freestyle swim came just a few minutes after she was third in the 50m breaststroke.

“I am pretty happy with the win,” Haughey said. “There’s not a lot of time between events and that’s tough. It’s early in the season and I am just back into training so I am not expecting any fast times, so anything decent and I am happy with that.

“I am not sure if I am swimming the 50 breast at all the stops and I do want to switch things up. If you think about two races in ten minutes and it’s really hard so I just treat these back-to-back races as training, using that mindset because ten minutes between sets is really a lot of time. It helps me mentally.

“I will likely swim 100 and 200 freestyle and I am not sure about my third event. I might switch it up. I want to extend a special thank to everyone for the incredible support and will keep pushing myself to improve. As for my overall performance, I felt it has been a gradual process since returning from the Olympics. The challenges ahead are still significant and participating in more competition will help me grow and hone my skills.”

Finland’s Laura Lahtinen set a national record in winning the 100m butterfly at 55.58 to move up to 22nd all-time, as China’s Tang Muhan won the 800m freestyle at 8:15.34.

The 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup will shift to Incheon next week with heats beginning Thursday morning 9:30 a.m. and finals at 7:30 p.m. local time.