Aussie Cameron McEvoy has become the fastest man ever in water, stunning swimming by breaking a world record that has seemed almost unbreakable for nearly two decades.
McEvoy, 31, shocked his rivals, and himself, overnight by shattering the men’s 50m freestyle record, set by Cesar Cielo 17 years ago, at a competition in Shenzhen, China.
With a time of 20.88 seconds — finishing more than a bodylength ahead of some of the world’s best — McEvoy, the Olympic champion in the event at the 2024 Paris Games, shaved three-hundredths of a second off Cielo’s mark achieved in the era of now-banned polyurethane bodysuits in December 2009.
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The 50m freestyle record was one of only an handful left from controversial “supersuit’ era and was widely regarded as one of the hardest to break. That McEvoy became the man to finally break it 31, and at a relatively low-key meet where his goals were simply to swim under 22 seconds — highlighted his remarkable, revolutionary approach to training in recent years.
‘Ecstatic,” McEvoy said after his record swim. “I had that target for a very long time.
“I had an insane season of training after the world champs last year. Was doing some pretty special stuff in training coming into this, so I knew I had a chance to maybe go a PB, maybe go 20.99, but I couldn’t ask for anything better. It’s incredible.”
McEvoy has reinvented himself as a swimmer in recent years, bulking up his physique and focusing on speed and strength instead of distance in training in an effort to transform himself into a 50m freestyle specialist.
He became the first Australian to win 50m freestyle gold in Paris and is also a two-time world champion over the distance. He won the China Open race ahead of American Jack Alexy, in 21.57, while his fellow Australian Kyle Chalmers was third in 22.01.
A shocked Alexy could be seen saying “that’s insane” to McEvoy after the jaw-dropping swim while Cielo himself was among those to pay tribute on social media.
“Congrats, Cam! Lightning fast swim! Incredible!,” Brazilian Cielo said in a social media post.
“I saw a phrase a while ago that perfectly captures what you’ve been doing. You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. Congratulations!”
McEvoy, 31, replied to Cielo’s message, saying: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants and you my friend are a giant in this sport full respect for your 17 years. I will do my best to uphold your example!”
Fellow swimming legends including Sarah Sjöström, Florent Manaudou, Chad le Clos and Adam Peaty were among those to pay tribute to the performance on social media.
McEvoy had entered the meet with a long-course best of 21.06 from the 2023 world championships, which had put him fifth on the all-time list.
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