NOÈ PONTI

NATIONALITY Switzerland
HOMETOWN Locarno, Lake Maggiore in Gambarogno
DATE OF BIRTH 1/6/2001
DISCIPLINE Butterfly
CLUB/COLLEGE Nuoto Sport Locarno
COACH Massimo Meloni / Andrea Mercuri
FOLLOW NOÈ ON
“Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light”

BIOGRAPHY

Noè Ponti was almost lost for words after he won bronze in the 100m butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics.

The 20-year-old was only the third Swiss swimmer to have won an Olympic medal.

“It is really a dream come true” Ponti said. “I’ve never felt this way before. I think I’m dreaming – it’s like living a dream. Before this Olympics the goal was to make the semifinal. What can I say? I’m speechless, it’s unbelievable.”

By the time he was three, Noè was already swimming without support in a style that – in his own words – resembled a dolphin.

Noè grew up speaking Italian and is also fluent in French, German and English.

He attended the Liceo di Locarno, the high school extending his education from four to five years to accommodate his training schedule.

He joined the Swiss national youth team in 2015 and won two silvers and one bronze at the 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival, his first major meet.

Noè reached two finals at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before claiming his first major medal with 50m butterfly gold at the 2019 European Junior Championships.

Following his Tokyo exploits, Noè returned to Ticino and his training base before winning 200m butterfly silver at the World Short-Course Championships in December 2021.

He thanked family, friends and fans, saying: “You made each competition fun and special and you inspire me every day to be a better swimmer.”

GENERAL QUICK FACTS

Favorite sportsperson or team (other than swimming)
Inter Milan football club
Favorite vacation spot and why
Venice because it is a magical place
Public person you admire
Tennis player Roger Federer
Favorite book(s)/author(s)
‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry
Favorite artist or work of art
Banksy
Items you’d want on a desert island
Swiss knife, hook and line, goggles/diving mask to see underwater
If you could be any character in fiction, who would you be?
James Bond
If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
To be able to control time and stop it when I want to enjoy a moment
If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
‘Noè Ponti: this is me.’
What you’d like to do in your life after swimming
It is a work in progress, but I’d like to stay in the sporting world

SWIMMING QUICK FACTS

Proudest moment in swimming
Winning the 100m Butterfly bronze medal at Tokyo 2020
Least favorite part of swimming
Wake up early in the morning for practice
Funniest moment in swimming
Interview post 4x200m final in Tokyo with my teammates
Favorite/least favorite training set and why
My favourite is 12x50 from the starting block all-out at 2 minutes and 30 seconds; my least favourite is 5x800 freestyle aerobic (in general all long aerobic sets)
Favorite Race/Training suits and why
My favourite racing suit is the arena Carbon Glide because it helped me win the medal at the Olympics. My favourite training suit is the slip-printed icons team because it has a cool design
Best piece of equipment and why
arena Cobra ultra-black goggles because they are comfortable
Favorite Food after training
Pizza “Quattro formaggi”
Most annoying type of swimmer
Those who show off
Favorite Pool in the world and why
Stadio del Nuoto (Foro Italico) in Rome because it is very fast and the location is amazing

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2023 EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS, OTOPENI
GOLD 50m Butterfly
GOLD 100m Butterfly
GOLD 200m Butterfly
SILVER 100m Individual Medley
2022 WORLD SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS, MELBOURNE
SILVER 50m Butterfly
BRONZE 200m Butterfly
2022 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, ROME
SILVER 100m Butterfly
2021 WORLD SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS, ABU DHABI
SILVER 200m Butterfly
2020 OLYMPIC GAMES, TOKYO
BRONZE 100m Butterfly
2019 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, KAZAN
GOLD 50m Butterfly

INSIDE NOÈ’S BAG

Cobra Swipe Mirror
Powerskin Carbon Air2 Jammer
Icons Swim Briefs Solid
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