Noè Ponti has made a successful start to his medal hunt at the European Short Course Championships in Poland. The 24-year-old from Ticino won gold in the 50 m dolphin, just like two years ago.
In his first final in the small pool in Lublin, Ponti came out on top ahead of Hungarian Szebasztian Szabo and Frenchman Maxime Grousset. He had lost to the latter in the final of the 50 m dolphin at the long course world championships in Singapore this summer and had to settle for silver.
This time the final was clearly in Ponti's favor. With a time of 21.54 - 22 hundredths over his world record - he beat Szabo by 35 hundredths and Grousset by 45 hundredths. The Swiss athlete lived up to his role as favorite without any ifs or buts.
Ponti now has four gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the European Short Course Championships. The haul is likely to become even more impressive in the coming days. If things go according to plan, he will be competing in the 100 m medley final on Thursday, before the medals in the 100 m and 200 m dolphin are handed out on Friday and Sunday.