SINGAPORE – Noe Ponti’s career has taken him to many parts of the world; The Swiss swimmer often travels to different countries for competitions.

But his two-week trip to Kenya after the Paris Olympics not only changed his perspective on life, but also helped him pass faster times in the pool.

In August, disappointed to come away from the Games empty-handed, the 23-year-old went to the small coastal town of Watamu, about 105 kilometers from Mombassa, to help a friend who was building a school there.

What impressed him was that the local people were carefree, always smiling, always happy, even though they didn’t have much in material terms.

“It really makes you see the world from a different perspective because we’re always complaining about everything,” he told The Straits Times.

“We have everything we need and they have nothing, yet they enjoy life more than we do.”

“The aim is to try to enjoy life as much as possible and focus on the positive things and not the negative things,” Ponti said on the sidelines of a media session held at the Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy ahead of the Singapore leg on October 28. World Aquatics Swimming World Cup.

The third and final leg of the short course series, the event will take place at the OCBC Aquatics Center between October 31 and November 2.

The stakes are high at the Singapore event, where Ponti finished second, just 1.4 points behind French star Leon Marchand. Won four gold medals at Paris Olympics Men’s individual rankings at the Swimming World Cup.

At the Shanghai and Incheon stops of the short track series, Ponti won five gold, one silver and one bronze medal. In the Chinese leg, he became the first Swiss to break a world record in a World Aquatics-sanctioned event since 1985 with his effort of 21.67 seconds in the 50 m butterfly.

And his current hot form has a lot to do with his new mentality.

He said: “My biggest aim at the moment is to enjoy what I do, to have fun, and that’s what I’ve been going through for the last few weeks – just to really relax and have fun with the other guys.

“We know it’s a World Cup, we know it’s really important, but at the same time when we’re not racing we just talk, have fun, hang out and stuff like that.”

Although Ponti missed his goal of winning a medal at his second Olympics in Paris, he believes the experience will push him to do better in the future.

He was just 0.1 seconds away from the podium spot after finishing fourth in the 100-meter butterfly race, where he won the bronze medal at the postponed Tokyo Games in 2021. He finished fifth in the 200 meter fly with a personal record and national ranking. Record of 1 minute 54.15 seconds.

Reflecting on Paris, he said: “It wasn’t the result I wanted but I still think I can learn a lot from it and I think it will be good for me too, it gave me a bit more motivation for the season.” the next few years.”