Noe Ponti of Switzerland shattered the men’s 50-meter butterfly world record at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday. Ponti clinched the gold medal with an astonishing time of 21.32 seconds, surpassing his own previous record of 21.43 seconds set just a day earlier in the semifinals.
Ilya Kharun of Canada secured the silver medal with a time of 21.67 seconds, while Nyls Korstanje of the Netherlands took bronze, finishing in 21.68 seconds.
The day was marked by remarkable performances and record-breaking swims across multiple events. In the women’s 100-meter backstroke final, Regan Smith of the United States set a new championship record (CR) by touching the wall in 54.55 seconds, surpassing the previous CR of 54.93 seconds held by her compatriot Katharine Berkoff. Ingrid Wilm of Canada earned the bronze with a time of 55.75 seconds.
Australia’s Lani Pallister dominated the women’s 800-meter freestyle final, winning gold with a new CR time of 8:01.95. Isabel Gose of Germany claimed silver in 8:05.42, and Katie Grimes of the United States took bronze with a time of 8:05.90.
In the women’s 100-meter freestyle semifinals, Gretchen Walsh of the United States broke the CR, finishing in 50.49 seconds. She advanced to the final alongside Freya Anderson of Britain. The other finalists were led by Beryl Gastaldello of France, who posted a time of 51.56 seconds.
China’s Tang Qianting made waves by breaking the Asian record in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke semifinals, finishing in 1:02.37. She was just 0.01 seconds shy of the world record held by Alia Atkinson of Jamaica. Tang advanced to the final, positioning herself as a strong contender for the gold.
In men’s competition, Qin Haiyang of China advanced to the men’s 100-meter breaststroke final with a time of 56.04 seconds, the second-fastest among the finalists. He was closely behind Kirill Prigoda of Russia, who led the semifinals with 56.02 seconds.
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Noe Ponti shatters men's 50m butterfly at World Championships (25m)
cgtn.com
