The 27th edition of the the Swimmeeting South Tyrol on Saturday afternoon in Bolzano
started with a bang. The spectators immediately saw three new event records by two
absolute stars: Noé Ponti from Switzerland took his eighth and ninth win in Bolzano
over the last few years, equalling his 2022 meeting record in the 50 butterfly in 22.77. A
few minutes later he ended the first day on a high note by lowering the previous meeting
record in the 100 IM held by Thomas Ceccon (52.79 in 2019) by three tenths down to
52.49. In the women's field, the star of the first day was the French Charlotte Bonnet,
who competed in four events and won four times. Her win in the 100 IM was the third
meeting record of the day. In 58.60 she cancelled out Natalie Coughlin's (USA) 58.72
from the far 2011. Ponti is the new darling of the Bolzano public and today too he did not disappoint
expectations. "I'm happy, two very good races with a few mistakes, but it's OK for now,"
said the Swiss followed by his coach Massimo Meloni at the poolside. On the 50 butterfly
he had no rivals (Tommaso Coccato in second place in 24.11), even in the mixed event
he swept the board and won ahead of Gabriele Brambillaschi (53.89). On Sunday Ponti
will also try to impose himself on the 100 butterfly, his favourite race. Brambillaschi did
somewhat surprisingly win the 100 freestyle in 48.92 ("it is my best time, a good test in
view of the Italian Open championships") ahead of Alessandro Bori (49.33). "Bolzano is a nice place, I love Italy, and I'm really happy," said Bonnet, who dropped the
poker today. At the start of the day she won the 100 freestyle in 53.67 ahead of Chiara
Tarantino (53.99). In the 50 breaststroke, Bonnet in 30.29 just missed the Swimmeeting
South Tyrol record by a little over four tenths, edging out Russia's Nika Godun (30.62)
and the US Rachel Bernhardt (30.89). The most painful victory came in the 50 butterfly,
where Bonnet got the better of Elena Di Liddo (26.30) in 26.14 and Godun(27.03) as
well. The only race in the women's field not won by the French was the 100 backstroke,
which went to Margherita Panziera in the photo finish. The three-time European
champion in the 200 backstroke beat Francesca Pasquino by five hundredths in 58.99,
who was second in 59.04. "It was the experience that rewarded me in the finish. It is a
great way to start the season," Panziera said at the end of her race. Favourite Alessandro Pinzuti triumphed in the 50 breaststroke in 26.79 with a
consistent lead of over a second over the Swiss Jeremy Desplanches, bronze medallist at
the Tokyo Games in 2021. The 100 backstroke was won by Simone Stefanì in 52.67
ahead of the Swiss Thierry Bollin (52.95) and Spain's Adrian Santos (54.15). "I thought
a bit less, but we are in the loading period, so at the end it's OK," said Stefanì. On Sunday
at 14:00 the stars will be in the pool again for the second day of the Swimmeeting in
Bolzano, now in its 27th edition since 1997.