Noe Ponti Scorches 22.74 for 50 Butterfly Title at Sette Colli
In a month, the best swimmers in the world will chase podium finishes at the World Championships in Singapore, and it appears that Switzerland’s Noe Ponti is going to be a major factor.
After posting a pair of sub-51 performances and claiming victory in the 100-meter butterfly earlier in the meet, Ponti capped his appearance at the Sette Colli in Rome with a dominant victory in the 50 fly on Saturday. Racing at the Foro Italico, Ponti produced a time of 22.74 to easily win the one-lap dash, where Russia’s Egor Kornev was the runnerup in 23.11.
Ponti has been consistent throughout the 2025 campaign, evident in his five sub-23 performances in the 50 butterfly. While he is a short-course champion in multiple events, Ponti has never won a medal at the long-course version of the World Champs.
The 50 fly, along with the sprints in the backstroke and breaststroke, will take on added significance this summer, thanks to the addition of the 50-meter stroke events to the program for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Ponti is the No. 6 performer in the history of the 50 fly, thanks to a time of 22.65.
Results
Day One Recap
Day Two Recap
Sara Curtis, Thomas Ceccon Lead Italian Charge
Italy continued to produce highlight performances for the home crowd, with Sara Curtis supplying the first victory of the night. The University of Virginia recruit and Italian record-holder topped the field in the 50 freestyle behind a time of 24.74, which was slightly quicker than the 24.81 of countrywoman Silvia DiPietro. They were the only athletes to break the 25-second barrier.
Thomas Ceccon put together a wire-to-wire triumph in the men’s 200 backstroke, but the Italian record-holder had to withstand a furious late charge by Switzerland’s Roman Mityukov. Ceccon got to the wall in 1:56.55, with Mityukov touching in 1:56.72. After Ceccon built a big lead through the opening 150 meters, he tired considerably down the stretch, allowing Mityukov to nearly pull off a comeback with a closing split of 29.03, compared to the 31.08 of Ceccon.
Rising teenage freestyler Carlos D’Ambrosio emulated Ceccon with a start-to-finish victory, his win arriving in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.99. The swim was a career best for the 18-year-old, who had done 1:46.32 at the Italian Championships earlier this year. D’Ambrosio had just a .01 lead on Great Britain’s James Guy at the final turn, but the Italian split 27.13 over the last 50 meters, with Guy splitting 27.62 to post a final mark of 1:46.49.
Francesca Furfaro won the women’s 200 backstroke in 2:11.74 and Massimiliano Matteazzi triumphed in the 200 individual medley, going 1:58.77.
In Other Action…
Expected to be a contender for a medal in multiple breaststroke events at the upcoming World Championships, Great Britain’s Angharad Evans cruised to a first-place finish in the 200 breaststroke. Evans checked in with a mark of 2:23.03, which handed her a two-second decision over Ireland’s Mona McSharry, who was the bronze medalist in the 100 breaststroke at the Paris Olympics.
Great Britain posted a one-two finish in the 200 individual medley behind the swims of Abbie Wood and Katie Shanahan. Wood went 2:10.72 for the victory while Shanahan registered a swim of 2:11.33.
Helena Bach of Denmark earned a comfortable victory in the women’s 200 butterfly, as she covered her four laps in 2:07.68. That effort was enough for an almost two-second margin over Ireland’s Ellen Walshe, who placed second in 2:09.59.
Japan’s Yu Hanaguruma rallied over the closing 50 meters to capture the men’s 200 breaststroke in 2:09.06. Over the last length, Yu and runnerup Christian Mantegazza each passed 150-meter leader Nicolo Martinenghi, with Mantegazza taking second in 2:09.39. Martinenghi stopped the clock in 2:10.00.
Germany’s Isabel Gose, who was the runnerup in the 800 freestyle on Friday, won the 400 freestyle in 4:07.59. Her countryman, Florian Wellbrock, pulled away late to win the men’s 1500 freestyle in 14:53.59. He was followed by longtime foe Gregorio Paltrinieri, who was timed in 14:58.22.