Ponti loses his goggles on the dive and finishes last

A final lasting less than twenty-three seconds was decided in its first instant. Noè Ponti, a twenty-five-year-old from Ticino, finished eighth and last in the 50 metres butterfly final at the European championships in Paris. His goggles flipped during the dive and ended up in his mouth.

His final time of 22.91 was the slowest of the three he swam at the meet: in the semi-final he had clocked 22.53 and in the heats 22.69. The semi-final time would have been enough for the podium.

Gold went to Russia's Egor Kornev in 22.52. France's Maxime Grousset, the reigning world champion, took silver two hundredths behind. Bronze went to Belarus's Grigori Pekarski in 22.68.

Ponti's comment after the race was terse: «Ho perso gli occhialini nel tuffo, e quindi niente...» (I lost my goggles on the dive, and that was that). He added: «Ho cercato di fare del mio meglio, ma a occhi aperti...» (I tried to do my best, but with my eyes open). He said he would change goggles before the 100 metres butterfly heats on Wednesday.

In the 50 metres butterfly there is no remedy for a technical mishap. The race is over in a single length: there is no turn at which to fix equipment, and no time to recover a rhythm. Swimming with open eyes means losing the reference of the lane and altering head position, two things that are paid for immediately over this distance.

Paris has not been a lucky venue for the Ticinese swimmer. In the same city, at the 2024 Olympic Games, he came fourth in the 100 metres butterfly and fifth in the 200, missing the podium on both occasions. His most recent successes have come in short course, where he has set world records.

Wednesday's race is now the one that matters. The 100 metres butterfly is the distance on which he built his international career, and three days of competition remain to change the character of this trip.

On the same day the Swiss team recorded other results. Roman Mityukov and Flavio Bucca qualified for the 200 metres backstroke final, also scheduled for Wednesday.