Tom Ponting

{{Short description|Canadian swimmer (born 1965)}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox swimmer

| name = Tom Ponting

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| fullname = Thomas Harold Ponting

| nicknames = "Tom"

| national_team = Canada

| strokes = Butterfly

| club =

| collegeteam = University of Calgary

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1965|1|28|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{convert|1.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|84|kg|lb|abbr=on}}

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Men's swimming}}

{{MedalCountry | Canada}}

{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games}}

{{MedalSilver | 1984 Los Angeles | 4×100 m medley}}

{{MedalSilver | 1988 Seoul | 4×100 m medley}}

{{MedalBronze | 1992 Barcelona | 4×100 m medley}}

{{MedalCompetition | Pan Pacific Games}}

{{MedalSilver | 1987 Brisbane | 200 m butterfly}}

{{MedalBronze | 1985 Tokyo | 200 m medley}}

{{MedalCompetition | Commonwealth Games}}

{{MedalGold | 1986 Edinburgh | 4×100 m medley}}

{{MedalGold | 1990 Auckland | 4×100 m medley}}

{{Medal|Competition | Pan American Games}}

{{MedalSilver | 1983 Caracas | 4x100 m medley}}

{{MedalCompetition | Summer Universiade}}

{{MedalBronze | 1983 Edmonton | 100 m butterfly}}

}}

Thomas Harold Ponting (born January 28, 1965) is a Canadian former competitive swimmer who specialized in the butterfly stroke. Ponting competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for Canada starting with the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. At every occasion he won a medal with the men's 4 × 100 m medley relay team: two silver and one bronze.

At the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) swimming championships in 1989, Ponting broke the world and Canadian records in the 100-metre butterfly, with a time of 52.62 seconds.{{Cite web |date=2011-09-18 |title=Tom Ponting |url=https://olympic.ca/team-canada/tom-ponting/ |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website |language=en-US}} The record still stands as the CIS record.

Ponting is one of only 2 swimmers in Canadian history to win three Olympic medals in three different Olympic Games (1992, 1988 and 1984).

World Record Short Course:

• 4 × 100 m medley relay (1991)
• 4 × 100 m medley relay (1992)
• 100 m butterfly - 52.62 (1989)