SWISS' WORLD STANDARD

Ponti missed Paris medal, but Kenya trip motivates him to 50m butterfly record

- Kimberly Kwek

Noe Ponti's career has taken him to many places around the world, with the Swiss swimmer often traveling to different countries for competitions.

But it was a two-week trip to Kenya after the Paris Olympics that not only changed his outlook on life, but also helped propel him to faster times in the pool.

In August, the 23-year-old, having suffered the disappointment of returning from the Games empty-handed, traveled to the small coastal town of Watamu, about 105km from Mombasa, to help a friend who is building a school there.

What struck him was how the locals, even though they do not have much in terms of materialistic things, are carefree and always smiling, always happy.

"This makes you really see the world in a different perspective, because we're always complaining about everything," Ponti told The Straits Times on the sidelines of a media session at Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy on Oct 28 ahead of the Singapore leg of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup.

"We have everything that we need and they have nothing, but still, they're enjoying life more than we do. The goal is just to try to enjoy life as much as possible and focus on the positive things, not the negative things."

The event, which is the third and final leg of the short-course series, runs from Oct 31 to Nov 2 at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.