2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
- Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
- Open Water Swimming: August 8 – 9, 2024
- La Défense Arena — Paris, France
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Full Schedule
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Entry Lists
MEN’S 50 FREE — BY THE NUMBERS:
- World Record: 20.91 — Cesar Cielo (BRA), 2009
- World Junior Record: 21.75 — Michael Andrew (USA), 2017 / 2017
- Olympic Record: 21.07 – Caeleb Dressel (USA)
- 2021 Olympic Champion: Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 21.07
It may not seem like it on the face of it, but the 50 free is one of the most technical events on the program. While the 400 IM requires swimmers to perform at a high level across all four strokes, and the distance events require constant sustained speed, one can still have one (relatively) weak stroke or have a few off splits. The 50, however, is not forgiving, allowing for no such slip-ups or hiding of a weakness.
All of the swimmers mentioned below need to be perfect from the start to the underwater to the breakout to the finish. With 75 swimmers entered in the event, 40 of them under or equal to OQT and less than .2 separating the 7th entry from the 18th, the 50 free prelims, let alone semi-finals, will be must-see viewing, much like it was in 2021.
Three years ago in Tokyo, American Caeleb Dressel was the creme de la creme, emerging first from the prelims (21.32), first from the semifinals (21.42), and then put it all together in the finals to finish in an Olympic record time of 21.07, his third fastest performance ever and his third individual gold of the meet.
The 2022 Worlds was expected to be a continuation of Dressel’s dominance in the event, but a shocking withdrawal from Budapest saw a scramble to the top of the podium. Emerging victorious from the pack was the T-5th place finisher in Tokyo, Ben Proud. The Brit, who was 21.72 at the Olympics, steadily improved from round to round in Budapest; he was 21.76 in prelims, 21.42 in the semis, and 21.32 in the finals.
The 2023 Worlds saw the re-emergence of Australian sprinter Cam McEvoy. After not attending the World Championships or Commonwealth Games in 2022, McEvoy, who shifted his entire training regime to the 50 free, emerged victorious, having swum 21.35, 21.25, then popped off a blistering 21.06 in the final to not only win by half a second but also set a new PB and Oceanian Record breaking Ashley Callus‘s super suited record of 21.19.
The much-maligned 2024 Worlds saw a relatively strong field in the 50-meter freestyle, as the past two defending champions were in the field. Yet Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bukhov emerged victorious, claiming victory in 21.44, beating out both McEvoy and Proud for the gold.
Four meets. Four winners. The 50 free appears to be wide open, and despite the field being so close together and thus so volatile, the top echelon of swimmers seem to be pretty secure in their chances of making the final, and of that group, a key four emerge as our leading contenders.
Dressaudou
(Photo by Patrick B. Kraemer / MAGICPBK)
If you are looking through the past Olympic results, one name pops up highly placed over the last three editions: Florent Manaudou. The Frenchman, who clocks in at 6’6, was the 7th seed entering the 2012 London Games, but he walked away as the Olympic Champion with a time of 21.34, beating out Cullen Jones (21.54), World Record Holder Cesar Cielo (21.59) and 2000 Gold medalist Anthony Ervin (21.78). With the win, Manaudou and his sister, Laure Manaudou, became the first pair of siblings in swimming to both win Olympic Golds.
After 2012, Manaudou emerged as one of the premier sprinting talents in the world. He helped France to win the 400 Free Relay at back-to-back World Championships in 2013 and 2015. In addition, he claimed individual golds in the 50s fly and free in 2015, the latter of which was in 21.19, which was, at the time, a textile suit best. At the next Olympics in 2016, Manaudou was denied back-to-back golds in the 50, by the slimmest of margins, being just out-touched by .01 by Ervin, 21.41 to 21.40.
After a public break from swimming, taking on handball, and with his role as the dominant sprinter filled by Dressel, the Frenchman returned to the Olympics to set up a gigantic clash of the titans as the pair were the top two coming out of both prelims and semis and while Dressel exploded with his 21.07, Manaudou had to be content with second place in 21.55, holding off Brazil’s Bruno Fratus by .02. His silver medal represented France’s sole medal in swimming.
While he failed to final at both the 2022 and 2023 Worlds, Manaudou seems to have a new resolve to win a fourth straight Olympic medal in the event. In January, he spent time in Australia training with McEvoy and has looked the best he ever has physically. Last month, at 33, he swam a personal best in the 100 free.
At the French Trials, Manaudou blitzed the field, winning in 21.54 and swimming 21.52 in prelims. The prelims time appears to be his fastest time since the Rio Olympics eight years ago and ranks him 6th in the world this season.
Caeleb Dressel (photo: Jack Spitser)
When Manaudou took his break after the 2016 Olympics, he cited Michael Phelps and Ervin’s ability to come back at a high level, and while we may never know exactly why Dressel took his, he too appears to be back and ready.
After claiming victory at the 2017 and 2019 Worlds, Dressel swam to the gold in 2021 and now stands on the cusp of being the first to repeat as champion since the great Alexander Popov did in 1992 and 1996.
It has been a slow and steady journey for Dressel since his return to swimming last May, but perhaps it has been what is necessary for him to find his way and love the sport again. Since a 22.57 14 months ago, Dressel swam 21.99 in November, then had back-to-back 21.8 at the last two Pros Swim Series meets. After entering the US Trials as the 5th seed, Dressel exploded to the win, stopping the clock in 21.41, his first time under 21.5 since April 2022, a time that ranks as his 10th fastest performance in the event.
Entering these Olympics as the 4th seed, Dressel will need to be on point for all of his swims, as will Manaudou for that matter, but the American should take some comfort from his 22.00 and 21.61 performances from the earlier rounds of US Trials. That said, it appears that per the entry lists, Dressel is expected to line up next to the #1 swimmer this season in the prelims, so one should expect fireworks from the get-go as Dressel has one of the best starts in the world, or so says Cam McEvoy.
Past Chances
With the 50 free increasingly becoming its own sub-sect of sprinting, in so much as its differentiation from the 100 recently and the different training regimes associated with the event, it has become a haven for swimmers of an older age to continue to participate in something they love. Ervin’s golds 16 years apart, Matt Greversmaking his 7th Olympic Trials are just two examples and Cam McEvoy is a third.
The Australian will be contesting his 4th Olympic games, like Manaudou, but unlike the French star, he has yet to win an individual medal. In Rio, McEvoy was a favorite to win in the 100 free after he swam the fastest 100 in a textile suit, but he faltered in the final, finishing 7th behind his compatriot, the then 18-year-oldKyle Chalmers. In the 50, he was the 3rd seed but struggled in the semifinals, swimming 21.89 and failed to advance to the finals. Five years later, in Tokyo, McEvoy failed to make the semifinals, finishing just 29th in 22.31.
However, after the pandemic and a break from swimming in 2022, the Aussie returned to even greater heights with a new training regime that was inspired by his love of rock climbing and incorporates concepts from speed cycling. After putting the world on notice in June of 2023 with his 21.27 from Australian Trials (his first PB in the event in over 7 years), the then 29-year-old would go on to win his first individual gold at a World Championships, storming to the victory in an even speedier 21.06, a result that made him the 4th fastest performer of all time.
(Photo by Patrick B. Kraemer / MAGICPBK)
The success seemed to continue to the 2024 Worlds, where he was 21.13 in prelims (the fastest time in the world this season), but as mentioned above, he slowed each successive round. He was out-touched in the end by just .01 and had to settle for the silver in Doha. More recently, at the Australian Trials, McEvoy was 21.43 in prelims and 21.35 in finals, righting the worrying trend that he was adding time as the event progressed. While slower than his 2023 Worlds time, the result would still rank as a top-two time in the world.
Sitting behind McEvoy in the rankings is Proud. The Brit, who won the 50 free in 2022 and backed it up with bronzes in 2023 and 2024, has been one of the more consistent performers on the world stage. In the lead-up to the Olympics this season, Proud, who in 2022 won the World, Commonwealth and European titles in one summer, rattled the SCM world record. At the 2023 European Championships, Proud smashed Manaudou’s European record of 20.26 as the Brit stopped the clock in 20.18, just .02 off Dressel’s time of 20.16.
Like McEvoy, Proud, who has a PB of 21.11 from the 2018 European Championships, has been turning back the years as he swam 21.25 at April’s Aquatics GB Championships. The time, which handily won the event by over half a second, was Proud’s fastest time since 2018 and his third-fastest performance ever and easily vaulted him into the Olympic medal conversation. However, that position has not always been favorable to the 29-year-old. Despite the successes at the Worlds and Euros, Proud hasn’t had the luck at the Olympics. In 2016, he placed 4th, missing the medals by .19, and in Tokyo, he tied for 5th, just .15 away from bronze.
While both Proud and McEvoy have had chances to medal and are amongst the top four likeliest to do so again, these Olympics feel like their last chance to do so. While Ervin was older than both of them when he won in Rio, the crowded field of young swimmers behind may box them out in four years’ time.
Young Things
