2024 SC Worlds Previews: Ponti Carries Momentum Into Men’s IMs While Seto’s 7-Peat Is At Risk

2024 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• December 10-15, 2024
• Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
• SCM (25m)
• Meet Central
• Roster Index
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Let’s not beat around the bush—Leon Marchand’s absence looms large in the men’s IM events. But while he’ll be missed, the positive spin is that these events become much more competitive without him. So without further ado, let’s look at who will be vying for the men’s IM crowns in Budapest.

100 IM Preview

• World Record: 49.28 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2020)
• Championship Record: 50.63 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2018)
• 2022 SC World Champion: Thomas Ceccon, Italy — 50.97
• Returning 2022 Short Course Worlds Finalists: Michael Andrew, Bernhard Reitshammer, Carles Coll Marti

It’s not just Marchand’s name missing from the psych sheets. None of the 2022 podium will race the 100 IM in Budapest. Neither gold medallist Thomas Ceccon nor silver medallist Javier Acevedo have made the trip. Finlay Knox is in the building but prioritizing other events. But even as the list of “big names” in the event shrinks, one name stands out from the rest.

Noe Ponti helped electrify the 2024 Swimming World Cup. Focusing solely on his IMs, he had several electric races with Marchand even with forgoing crossover turns. He brought his lifetime best down to 50.39 at the final stop in Singapore, climbing to third-fastest performer all-time. The swim makes him the clear favorite in this field—no one else entered has broken 51 seconds in their career, much less the season. Ponti has already provided plenty of fireworks this short-course meters season, but more could be in store this week.

Ponti has jetted to the front of the field, but an interesting race is shaping up behind him. Bernhard Reitshammer, the defending European Short Course champion, is in the field and looking to move up from his seventh-place finish in Melbourne. The 30-year-old has improved since 2022, breaking 52 seconds to win his European title in 51.39. He owns a season-best of 52.79 but should be faster in Budapest as he aims for his first podium at the Olympic/World Championship level.

Carles Coll Marti hit a new Spanish record of 51.73 at the Spanish Championships in November. The time puts him in the top five on the psych sheet and in a strong position to move up from his eighth-place finish in Melbourne. Then, there’s Michael Andrew, the last returning 2022 finalist and the lone American representative in the race. He’s had a busy fall; he withdrew from the World Cup due to illness and has also begun training at Arizona State. Herbie Behm and the Sun Devils are well known for their sprint prowess and this meet will be an interesting data point for Andrew and his new coaches. The 2016 100 IM world champion owns a lifetime best of 51.22 and has been 52.54 already this season, both things that point to another finals appearance for Andrew at the minimum.

The Turkish duo of Emre Sakci and Berke Saka join Ponti, Reitshammer, and Coll Marti with sub-52 second entry times. Sakci’s 51.14 from the 2023 European Short Course Championships ranks him right at the top of the psych sheet with the rest of the favorites and it’s probably not worth putting a lot of weight on his in-season 54.08 from earlier in November. Saka doesn’t have a season-best—he’s been racing in the NCAA—but his 51.99 from December 2023 is a compelling case for the finals. Plus, he’s been having a strong season for Georgia Tech in yards.

Kim Ji-hun nearly joined the sub-52 club in Incheon, where he swam a lifetime best 52.00. He’s someone to watch for a finals appearance, as is Brazil’s Caio Pumputis, who neared his 51.99 lifetime best earlier this fall with a 52.06.

Several swimmers who aren’t necessarily 100 IM specialists will try their hand at the event in Budapest. Alberto Razzetti and Caspar Corbeau aren’t known as sprinters—Razzetti specializes in longer IMs/200 fly and Corbeau is a breaststroker—but this is a chaotic field where a good timely swim from either could book their ticket to the final.  And behind Ponti, it feels like a wide-open race for the next two steps on the podium,

SwimSwam’s Top Four Picks: 

200 IM Preview

• World Record: 1:48.88 — Leon Marchand, France (2024)
• Championship Record: 1:49.63 — Ryan Lochte, United States (2012)
• 2022 SC World Champion: Matt Sates, South Africa — 1:50.15
• Returning 2022 Short Course Worlds Finalists: Carson Foster, Finlay Knox, Shaine Casas, Daiya Seto, Alberto Razzetti
• 2024 Olympic Finalists in the Field: Carson Foster, Alberto Razzetti, Daiya Seto, Finlay Knox

Meanwhile, in the men’s 200 IM, five of the top six from the 2022 Short Course World Championships return. That’s silver medalist Carson Foster and bronze medalist Finlay Knox, along with fourth-place Shaine Casas, fifth-place Daiya Seto, and sixth-place Razzetti. The defending champion, Matt Sates, was listed on South Africa’s original roster for these World Championships but does not appear on the psych sheet.

So, let’s take it from the top with the returning medalists. Foster missed the 200 IM podium in Paris, but even so, he’s become one of the most consistent IM medal threats over the last Olympic quad. His 1:50.66 lifetime best from 2022 is one of the fastest lifetime bests in the field and while he hasn’t raced short-course meters this season, he flexed his mid-distance form in yards by breaking the American record in the 500 free (though that record only lasted an hour).

Casas joined Foster, his Texas training partner, in making his post-Olympic debut during pro-athlete time trials at the yards-based Texas Hall of Fame Invitational. There, he clocked a 1:39.44 in the 200 IM. He owns a lifetime best of 1:50.37, swum during the 2022 Swimming World Cup which makes him the fourth-fastest performer in history.

If Sates is indeed out, then it’s Casas with the fastest lifetime best in the field. Casas is often on a rollercoaster during major meets—he got it right in Indianapolis and made his first Olympic team. This will be both his and Foster’s first major meet since Bob Bowman took over at Texas. Something to keep an eye on is whether Bowman will be able to help Casas make his experience at major meets a little less chaotic. If Casas can be at his best through all three rounds, then he’s got a strong shot at the top step of the podium.

Knox warmed up for these World Championships at the SI Clubhouse Colleges Cup. He raced the 100 IM there, not the 200 IM, though it’s the latter event he’s slated to race in Budapest. Knox has made big strides in the long-course 200 IM in the last twelve months, resetting the Canadian record multiple times. He began his year by winning 200 IM gold in Doha and it will be interesting to see him apply the improvements he’s made and the lessons he’s learned from the Games back in the short-course meters format.

A week ago, it seemed like the 400 IM would be Seto’s primary objective at the meet. But since news broke that he cracked his rib, it seems like diving in would be “mission accomplished” for Seto in Budapest. He confirmed to SwimSwam that he’d make the trip, and we’ll just have to wait and see what he’s capable of doing. He’s been as fast as 1:50.66, which makes him the sixth-fastest performer in history by USA Swimming’s list. He’s already been 1:51.91 this season, one of the fastest 2024 swims in the rankings. Without a cracked rib, he’d be one of the main contenders in this race but now there’s a big question mark next to his name.

Razzetti is a four-time Short Course World Championship medalist; in 2021, he claimed gold in the 200 fly and bronze in the 200 IM. After a sixth-place finish in the 200 IM at the last edition of these championships, he’ll be eager to get back onto the podium. He’s improved since Melbourne, swimming a lifetime best 1:52.13 at the 2023 European Short Course Championships, eventually picking up a silver medal there. He’s logged a 1:52.99 already this season.

And what about Ponti? He’s asserted himself as the man to beat in the 100 IM and the sprint butterfly events, but he also put himself on the 200 IM radar at the World Cup. He swam a lifetime best 1:51.78 in Shanghai, which makes him one of two men in this field to break 1:52 already this season. He could scratch to focus on his other events, but the 200 IM is early in the program and if Ponti does swim, he’s shown that he’ll be right in the mix for a medal.

Ilya Borodin and Aleksei Sudarev have been approved as neutral athletes and will be in the Budapest field. Borodin swam a lifetime best 1:52.75 in November; Sudarev sits further back with a season-best of 1:53.50 but has been as fast as 1:52.13.

Coll Marti and Saka carry over from the 100 IM field. Again, Saka hasn’t raced in short-course meters this season but Coll Marti was just two-hundredths from his lifetime best at the Spanish Championships, swimming 1:54.05. Great Britain’s Max Litchfield could also join the fray. He’s been 1:55.62 this season and owns a best of 1:53.21—albeit from December 2018—that ranks just ahead of Saka’s lifetime best (1:53.52).

400 IM Preview

• World Record: 3:54.81 — Daiya Seto, Japan (2019)
• Championship Record: 3:55.50 — Ryan Lochte, United States (2010)
• 2022 SC World Champion: Daiya Seto, Japan — 3:55.75
• Returning 2022 Short Course Worlds Finalists: Daiya Seto, Carson Foster, Alberto Razzetti, David Schlicht
• 2024 Olympic Finalists in the Field: Carson Foster, Max Litchfield, Alberto Razzetti, Daiya Seto, Cedric Buessing

Seto has dominated the 400 IM at the Short Course World Championships since 2012. During the 2019 ISL season, he broke Ryan Lochte’s nine-year-old world record, swimming a 3:54.81. He’s been the best in the world in this event for over a decade and has continued to post top times; in 2022, he swam the second-fastest time of his career (3:55.75) to claim his sixth-straight Worlds gold.

A week ago, this preview would’ve taken a wildly different direction. With Marchand pulling out of Worlds, it seemed that the skies had parted and Seto’s main obstacle to a historic seven-peat in the 400 IM was gone. He was the clear favorite with only one or two potential challengers.

But now, Seto’s cracked rib has thrown everything into doubt. Instead of a relatively straightforward preview, there’s a multitude of questions swirling. Will Seto swim? If he does, what will he be able to do with a cracked rib? Will it be enough to win anyway?

Seto’s main challengers will likely be Borodin, Razzetti, and Foster. Borodin has the fastest lifetime best of this trio, boasting a 3:56.47 from his silver medal performance at the 2021 Short Course World Championships, which still stands as the world junior and European records. This season, he’s already been as fast as 3:57.67—he and Seto are the two entrants who have broken 4:00 this season.

Razzetti sits atop the psych sheet with his lifetime best 3:57.01 from winning gold at the 2023 European Short Course Championships. This season, he’s been 4:00.59 but should have no trouble getting back under the 4:00 barrier and even if Seto’s rib wasn’t cracked, would be a major podium contender.

Foster has made the 400 IM podium at the last two editions of Short Course Worlds, taking bronze in 2021 and silver in 2022. Can he upgrade to gold in 2024? He posted a 3:34.50 during a time trial at the Texas Invite and that’s really all the information we have about his 400 IM form this season. Even so, he’s shown that it’s a mistake to discount his chances in an international 400 IM and will likely bring podium-worthy form to Budapest.

Olympic finalists Max Litchfield and Cedric Buessing are also slated to race the 400 IM this week. Litchfield set a national record as he finished fourth (4:08.85) in Paris. In short-course meters, he owns a lifetime best of 4:00.18 from 2018 and has been 4:05.94 this season. Even if Seto isn’t in the field, he’ll likely need a lifetime best to get on the podium. Buessing was one of the surprises of the Games, as he became the first DII swimmer to make an Olympic final. Can he defend his final lane in short-course meters? His lifetime best is 4:11.76 from 2022 and is now slower than his long-course lifetime best (4:11.52) so it seems like a good bet there’s a drop incoming.

David Schlicht is also in a position to repeat his short-course Worlds final appearance from 2022. Schlicht’s lifetime best is 4:02.85 and neared that with his 4:03.55 to win at September’s Australian Short Course Championships.

Other names to circle in this event as potential finalists include Seto’s teammate Kaito Tabuchi, late addition Trenton Julian, along with China’s Huang Zhiwei, Greece’s Apostolos Papstamos, and the host nation’s Balazs Hollo.

Seto’s injury throws the 200/400 IM picks into even more chaos. The 200 IM is early in the meet, while the 400 IM comes later. Based on his comments, it seems like he’ll at least give the 200 IM a try at the start of the meet and then go from there. But with so much uncertainty, we’ve decided to leave him out of the picks.

SwimSwam’s Top Four Picks: