Cam McEvoy breaks 50m world record in stunning swim
Australian sprint star Cam McEvoy has made a remarkable comeback by breaking the world record in the men’s 50m freestyle.
The Olympic and reigning world champion blew through the field at the China Swimming Open in Shenzhen and hit the wall in 20.88 seconds; He is 0.03 seconds shy of Brazilian César Cielo’s mark in 2009.
What’s important about this record is that Cielo’s record was broken in the now-banned polyurethane “supersuits” and McEvoy set the fastest time ever in textiles. Cielo’s mark was considered one of the most inviolable world records in swimming.
McEvoy’s previous personal best was 21.06, swimming to win gold at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka.
“20.88 is unreal. It’s crazy,” McEvoy said.
“I look at the 50 meters as a strength-based skill, different from other events in swimming.
“There’s a lot more strength and power involved, and men reach the peak of their strength in their 30s, so in their 30s.”
McEvoy is currently the only Australian male swimmer to hold the individual long course world record. Ariarne Titmus (200m freestyle) and Kaylee McKeown (50m and 200m backstroke) are the only Australian female athletes with individual scores.
Following the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, McEvoy effectively stepped away from the sport, then returned with a radically overhauled training program under coach Tim Lane.
McEvoy, who has a background in math and physics, has shifted his approach to prioritize specificity, focusing on fewer laps in the pool and a greater emphasis on strength and power.
The results are quite impressive: world titles in 2023 and 2025 and an Olympic gold medal in Paris; Here he surpassed Ben Proud from Great Britain and Florent Manaudou from France with a time of 21.25.
Kyle Chalmers labeled the world record “crazy” on social media, while fellow Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan wrote: “So proud of you. Huge congratulations!”
Cielo was quick to congratulate McEvoy on X.
“Congratulations Cam! Swim at the speed of light! Incredible! A while ago I saw a sentence that perfectly describes what you are doing. You can never change things by fighting the current reality. To change something, build a new model that overrides the existing model. Congratulations!”
More to come
Tom Decent is chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
