By Tom Decent
Cameron McEvoy has taken gold in the men’s 50m freestyle final, becoming the first Australian male to win an Olympic medal in the event since it began in 1988.
The veteran of three Olympics and the oldest member of the Dolphins team clocked a time of 21.25 seconds at La Defense Arena, edging out Benjamin Proud of Great Britain (21.30). Florent Manaudou of France thrilled the home crowd by capturing the bronze in 21.56.
Cameron McEvoy wins gold in the 50m freestyle.Credit: Eddie Jim
He is the first Australian male athlete to win a gold medal at these Games.
“Just literally pure joy. It’s amazing to win, but that entire 21.25 seconds was bliss,” McEvoy told Nine after his victory.
“The way the stroke moved in the water – I never thought I’d be able to experience that, the joy of the movement I just did, let alone get a gold medal with it. It’s unreal.
“I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated that much after a race either. That’s a first for me too.”
It adds to McEvoy’s 50m freestyle gold medal at last year’s world championships in Japan, and caps a remarkable comeback several years after the sprinter had all but retired from the sport.
The closest Australia had come to a medal before this epic final was Ashley Callus in 2008, who finished fourth, ahead of Eamon Sullivan (sixth) who broke the world record in the semi-finals.
“It’s amazing to win, but that entire 21.25 seconds was bliss.”
Cameron McEvoy
In 2022, McEvoy could not have been further from changing that history.
McEvoy, suffering from burnout, had effectively retired and spent seven months out of the pool. He trained at a local gym six times a week for fun and became obsessed with rock climbing.
His rankings were average. He was 40th in the world in 2020, 51st in 2021 and 38th in 2022.
And then came the fairytale of 2023 as he won his first individual title.
