World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 Incheon: Noe Ponti wins race despite goggles mishap and ties Leon Marchand in 100m IM
Kate Douglass smashed a 15-year-old world record to continue her undefeated streak at the short-course World Cup, while Leon Marchand paid yet another tribute with his swimming cap.
Swimming
Blurred vision was no obstacle for Noe Ponti who managed to win the men's 100m butterfly at the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Incheon, Republic of Korea on Thursday (24 October) despite his goggles going askew on the dive.
While the Swiss swim ace managed to keep the goggles on his face, water washed into his eyes and shifted the contacts he was wearing. Unable to see his opposition, Ponti said he relied on his stroke count to orient himself in the race.
“I lost my goggles at the start and I was like, 'OK, I guess I'm going to have to swim without goggles'," Ponti told Olympics.com. "The thing is that I wear contacts, so I was pretty scared that it would hurt or something, but I lost [the contacts] as well. And then I just keep going. I could see a little bit under water, but I didn't want to risk it under 15 metres or so, so I just took it out fast and hoped that I wouldn’t die."
Ponti's time of 48.81 was off the European and World Cup record of 48.40 he set last week in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, but still fast enough to claim the win. As in the Shanghai race, Nyls Korstanje was runner-up to Ponti, though he managed to narrow the gap from 00.84 to 00.18 seconds. Andrei Minakov finished third.
Smiling with relief after touching the wall, Ponti shook the water out of his goggles and readjusted his left eye contact. Shortly after – his goggles firmly tied – Ponti jumped in the pool again to challenge four-time Olympic champion Leon Marchand in the men's 100m medley.
The duo were separated by a mere 0.01 seconds in Shanghai with Marchand taking the gold. In Incheon, they tied for the win with 51.00 seconds on the clock.
Marchand trailed in fifth place before moving into the lead in the breaststroke leg with a dazzling 14.38 split. Ponti, sitting in second before Marchand's big move, caught up to him on the freestyle leg to touch the wall at the same time. Italy's Thomas Ceccon, who led for the first half of the race, finished third.
Leon Marchand's new swim cap and post-Olympics mindset
His fast time and gold medal aside, Marchand's race stood out for the memorable look he brought to the pool. Breaking from his usual tricolour, the French star delighted the fans in Incheon when he walked out wearing the swim cap he had exchanged with local swimmer Lee Yooyeon on 30 July during Paris 2024.
"I've met this guy at the Olympics. He was in the 4x200m (freestyle) relay and he was such a cool guy," Marchand told Olympics.com. "We exchanged caps and now I'm wearing it today. I thought it was a good idea. So it's been fun."
Marchand similarly sported Caeleb Dressel's swim cap during his first heats in Shanghai, provoking a cheeky reaction from USA's nine-time Olympic champion.
The three-stage World Cup marks the first competition for Marchand since winning five medals at the home Olympic Games. The swimmer took six weeks off before returning to training in September.
He won three gold medals in Shanghai, missing out only in the men’s 200m breaststroke where he finished fourth, and is entered in six events in Incheon.
“I wanted to take a lot of time off after the Olympics and I thought having a short term goal was a good idea for me," Marchand told Olympics.com about his decision to compete in the short-course World Cup. "Travelling around, being with new people, new cultures, visiting new cities, I thought it was a good idea to do it. “
Kate Douglass takes down 15-year-old world record in 200m breast
Paris 2024 women's 200m breaststroke champion Kate Douglass claimed another victory in her signature event in Incheon and added a world record to make an even bigger statement.
The USA swimmer shaved 0.41 off the record mark that USA's Rebecca Soni set in 2009 as she touched the wall in a time of 2:14.16, more than five seconds ahead of runner-up Tara Kinder of Australia and Republic of Korea's bronze medallist Park Sieun.
Douglass' result on Thursday was almost two seconds faster than her winning time in the same event during the first stage of the World Cup in Shanghai, marking the first of her two victories in the evening. The 22-year-old also won the women's 100m medley, touching the wall ahead of People's Republic of China's Yu Yiting and Canada's Mary-Sophie Harvey, to continue her six-race undefeated streak at the World Cup.
“My goal tonight was just to win both of those events and to also come away with a world record is really exciting," Douglass told Olympics.com. “I was very surprised to see the world-record time. I never thought I would honestly be capable of getting that. But it's a very exciting feeling and I'm excited to see how I improve in that event this year.”
As for Marchand, the short-course World Cup marks Douglass' return to the pool after Paris 2024 where she won two gold and two silver medals.
“I definitely took a little bit of a break after Paris, but I wanted to just give the World Cup a try. I've never been to one before and I felt like if there's any year to travel and take the pressure off of swimming, that post-Olympics would be the year to do it," Douglass said. "I feel like I'm just trying to have fun with swimming right now and just not really think about the results.”
The World Cup in Incheon continues on 25 and 26 October. Find the latest news and interviews from the event on Olympics.com.
Results from the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 in Incheon, Republic of Korea - Day 1:
Women's 400m freestyle
- Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN) - 3:56.78
- Siobhan Bernadette Haughey (HKG) +01.28
- Kobori Waka (JPN) +07.31
Men's 400m freestyle
- Pan Zhanle (CHN) - 3:36.43
- Duncan Scott (GBR) +00.61
- Kieran Smith (USA) +00.72
Women's 50m backstroke
- Regan Smith (USA) - 25.71
- Ingrid Wilm (CAN) +00.38
- Beata Nelson (USA) +00.46
Men's 200m backstroke
- Pieter Coetze (RSA) - 1:50.05
- Kacper Stokowski (POL) +01.51
- Enoch Robb (AUS) +01.91
Women's 200m butterfly
- Bella Grant (AUS) - 2:03.13
- Regan Smith (USA) +00.08
- Laura Lahtinen (FIN) +00.66
Men's 100m butterfly
- Noe Ponti (SUI) - 48.81
- Nyls Korstanje (NED) +00.18
- Andrei Minakov (NIA) +00.90
Women's 200m breaststroke
- Kate Douglass (USA) - 2:14.16
- Tara Kinder (AUS) +05.05
- Park Sieun (KOR) +05.42
Men's 100m breaststroke
- Ilya Shymanovich (NIA) - 56.10
- Qin Haiyang (CHN) +00.12
- Caspar Corbeau (NED) +00.49
Women's 50m freestyle
- Katarzyna Wasick (POL) - 23.51
- Yang Junxuan (CHN) +00.60
- Milla Jansen (AUS) +00.81
Men's 50m freestyle
- Ji Yuchan (KOR) - 20.80
- Isaac Cooper (AUS) +00.27
- Jamie Jack (AUS) +00.29
Women's 100m medley
- Kate Douglass (USA) - 56.97
- Yu Yiting (CHN) +00.91
- Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN) +00.98
Men's 100m medley
- Noe Ponti (SUI) - 51.00
- Leon Marchand (FRA) - 51.00
- Thomas Ceccon (ITA) +00.15