Paris Olympics, Day 6 Semifinals: Cam McEvoy and Ben Proud Tie in 50 Freestyle; Dressel, Manaudou Lurking

Cameron McEvoy of Australia prepares to compete in the 50m Freestyle Men Semifinal during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 28th, 2023.

Paris Olympics, Day 6 Semifinals: Cam McEvoy and Ben Proud Tie in 50 Freestyle; Dressel, Manaudou Lurking

The 50 freestyle, more than any event, is defined by tight finishes. So, it is more than appropriate that the semifinals of the one-lap dash at the Olympic Games in Paris featured a tie between leading medal contenders.

Racing in the second semifinal, Australia’s Cam McEvoy and Great Britain’s Ben Proud posted identical times to head into Friday night’s final as the co-favorites. McEvoy and Proud were each clocked in 21.38, which gave them some cushion over the No. 3 qualifier, Italy’s Leonardo Deplano (21.50).

Proud got off the blocks faster than anyone in the field and is now in position to secure the one major title that has eluded his grasp through the years. To date, the 29-year-old has been a world champion in the 50 free, along with a European and Commonwealth champion. Is Olympic titlist the next description to go on his resume?

McEvoy’s tale is one of longevity and reinvention. Now 30 years old, the four-time Olympian earned his first international medal on the senior level at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona. At that point in his career, McEvoy was best known for his ability in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle. But over the last few years, his career renaissance has hinged on a move to the 50 freestyle, and an adjustment in his training to emphasize pure speed.

The shift has proven highly successful.

In addition to winning the gold medal in the 50 freestyle at the 2023 World Championships, McEvoy was the silver medalist earlier this year at the World Champs in Doha. He’s also been the 50 freestyle’s top-ranked performer over the past two years, with his best of 21.06 ranking as the fifth-fastest performance in history.

“I have some things to clean up,” McEvoy said. “The 50, it’s so technically critical to get everything right. I’m not going in there expecting I’m going to nail everything. It’s just do it as best I can, handle it all as best I can, and fingers crossed.”

The fourth and fifth seeds for the final came from the first semifinal, where the Cayman Islands’ Jordan Crooks sped to a career-best time of 21.54 to edge defending Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel. The American rebounded from a shaky prelim to clock in at 21.58. Dressel was followed by France’s Maxime Grousset (21.60).

“This morning, I didn’t execute that well,” Dressel said. “It was tough for me, the morning swim, so I was happy to see (21.5). I knew I was going to drop, so I’ve got to keep notching. It’s going to take faster than (21.5) to win. Happy to have a lane, and happy to be here.”

Rounding out the field for the final were Greece’s Kristian Gkolomeev (21.62) and Frenchman Florent Manaudou (21.64). Manaudou will try to make history in the final as the first athlete to earn a medal in the event at four consecutive Games. Manaudou was the 2012 champion in London and claimed back-to-back silver medals in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

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