Noe Ponti Hits 51.07 In The 100 Fly During Day One Prelims of Nice Giant Series

2024 MEETING NICE – CAMILLE MUFFAT – GIANT SERIES

• Sunday, March 17th – Wednesday, March 20th
• Nice, France
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Live Results

The first stop of the 2024 ‘Giant Series’ circuit is underway, with the first preliminary session of the Nice stop completed. The women’s 200 backstroke, men’s 100 butterfly, women’s 100 breaststroke, men’s 200 IM, women’s 400 IM, men’s 200 freestyle, women’s 50 butterfly, and men’s 50 breaststroke are all on the day one schedule.

The men’s 100 fly heats saw Tokyo bronze medalist Noe Ponti hit the wall in 51.07, a time that ranks him 3rd in the world this season, sitting behind only Australian Matt Temple (50.25) and American Shaine Casas (51.03). Ponti showcased strong closing speed, as he opened in 24.18 before closing in a very fast 26.89.

Ponti’s best time, and national record, stands at the 50.74 that he produced during the 2021 Olympic final. Ponti’s morning effort was just off his best from last season, which is the 51.00 that he put on the books at the Fukuoka World Championships.

The 2023 World Champion, Maxime Grousset, finished the heats ranked 2nd with his time of 52.65. American Michael Andrew swam the race, situating himself in 4th (52.82) going into the final.

The women’s 50 fly was a swift one, with France’s Melanie Henique (25.90) representing the fastest swimmer of the morning. The 31-year-old recently earned bronze at the Doha World Championships last month, where she checked-in at 25.44 (25.27 in semifinals). Henique has a storied history in this event, first medaling at the World Championships back in 2011. She owns the French national record in 25.17, a time she put up in 2021.

Sweden’s Sara Juvenik also recorded a sub-26 clocking, finishing her heat in 25.94.

Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey stopped the clock in 4:44.79 for the women’s 400 IM, the fastest time of the heats session by nearly four seconds. At last month’s Quebec Cup, Harvey recorded personal best times en masse, highlighted by a 1:57.26 200 free. France’s Cyrielle Duhamel also broke 4:50, situating herself in 2nd at 4:48.47.

Brazil’s Joao Luiz Gomes Junior hit the wall in 27.70 for the men’s 50 breast, leading Michael Andrew (27.75) and Antoine Viquerat (27.89) into finals later today. Gomes, now 38, is a two-time medalist in this distance at the long course World Championships. Gomes bagged silver in 2017 before adding bronze to his collection in 2019.

Lisa Mamie stopped the clock in 1:08.93 to top the women’s 100 breast heats, with Spain’s Jessica Vall (1:09.86) the only other competitor under 1:10. Mamie, who represents Switzerland, was the 2022 European Champion in the 200m breaststroke.

Other Top Qualifiers:

• Only two men broke 1:50 in the 200 free heats, with Sebastien De Meulemester (1:49.38) touching 0.21 ahead of French teammate Nans Mazellier (1:49.59).
• Emma Terebo (2:11.47) finished over a second ahead of Pauline Mahieu (2:13.76) during the women’s 200 back heats. Mary-Ambre Moluh sits in 6th with her 2:15.10 prelim marker.
• Jacques Saletes (2:02.67) touched ahead of 2021 Olympic bronze medalist Jeremy Desplanches (2:03.54) to top the men’s 200 IM prelim field.