Paris Olympics: The Old Men and the 50 Free; How Veterans Dominated the Sprint

Paris Olympics: The Old Men and the 50 Free; How Veterans Dominated the Sprint

Cast your mind back to August 1, 2021. Florent Manaudou came through the mixed zone where swimmers speak to reporters draped in the French flag and with a huge smile on his face.

He’d just won his third consecutive Olympic medal in the 50-meter freestyle, replicating his Rio 2016 silver, nine years after gold at London 2012.

Ahead of him that night at the Tokyo Aquatic Center was Caeleb Dressel in an Olympic record of 21.07, with Manaudou taking silver in 21.55, ahead of Brazil’s Bruno Fratus (21.57).

Dressel was the youngest of the trio at 24 while Manaudou was 30 and Fratus 32. With a combined age of 86, the trio made up the second-oldest podium since the event was introduced at Seoul 1988. Rio 2016 – headed by 35-year-old Anthony Ervin – had 87 years of experience on the rostrum.

“I think what counted was maybe the experience,” Manaudou said. “We (Manaudou and Fratus) were in the call room and we said it’s the third Olympic final for us. And we are both on the podium so that means something. And he’s older than me!

“Anthony won at 35, (and) there are of course young swimmers, but the 50 free is keep your nerves, stay focused, stay calm. And it’s pretty hard to do when you’re in your first Olympic final, your first semifinal. You just have to race. You do four years of training – five years – just to enjoy this moment. Why should we be scared of it? We just enjoy the moment and be happy like me.”

Fast-forward three years and one day to August 2, 2024.

Cam McEvoy stopped the clock at 21.25 for victory at the Paris Games, the first Australian to win a medal, let alone gold at his fourth Olympics.

Ben Proud became the first British athlete to win a medal in the 50 freestyle with silver in 21.30 at his third attempt.

Manaudou became the first man to reach the 50 podium at four straight Olympics with bronze in 21.56.

With McEvoy 30, Proud 29 – and leaving his 20s behind in September – and Manaudou, 33, the trio were the three oldest men in the field with a combined age of 92.

McEvoy’s is a story of resilience, reinvention and renaissance. On the brink of quitting after Tokyo, he took an extended break and on his return to the pool, developed a new sprint-specific training program.

The man known as “The Professor” pointed to its evolution, which resulted with him atop the podium.

“That’s something that I’ll find very hard to replicate in my life and that is going to be something I’m going to be most proud of forever.”
McEvoy looked ahead to the 2032 Games in Brisbane, saying: “I’ll be 38, and there have been older swimmers who have won world championships. We’ll see what time has for me.”

McEvoy credits Proud as a source of inspiration when he sought the courage to develop his training regime. The Briton’s own Olympic journey had seen him finish fourth in Rio, followed by joint-fifth alongside Kristian Gkolomeev in Tokyo. Desolate, Proud was on the verge of quitting.

He returned to Malaysia – where he grew up – to train with his first coach, Francis Kiu, before heading to Kapolei, Hawaii to join up with Elliot Ptasnik, founder and head coach of professional training group Aloha Aquatica.

There was a combination of workouts in the pool and Pacific Ocean where he was accompanied by Ervin and Aaron Peirsol.

It was transformative for Proud, who returned to his base in Gloria, Türkiye, where he works with coach James Gibson and strength and conditioning coach Marco Cosso. Proud had won every title available to him coming into Paris, but an Olympic medal had eluded him.

Like McEvoy, he has more time yet in competitive waters.

“I think with Cam, he’s really come up very last minute and done this and suddenly he’s opened up a door for a lot of older guys to say that, okay, now we can go until 35, 36 which we’ve seen some people do in the past,” Proud said.

“So, having more people doing this is very nice and it’s exciting because it’s almost like, yes we’re 29, 30, but we’re just starting our swimming career and that’s a very unique place to be.”

Proud described sharing the podium with Manaudou as “the cherry on top” with the pair training together at Gloria. With a medal at a jubilant La Defense Arena, the Frenchman penned a unique line in the history books as he outstripped Gary Hall Jr., who’d made the podium in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

“You have to change your mindset, and adapt depending on how you feel I think,” he said. “I’m not doing the same thing as in 2012. For example, this year I decided to swim a bit more alone like Cameron, like Ben. All of us, we are more alone on the journey.”

Echoing his words of “enjoying the moment” back in 2021, he added: “But everything counts when it matters and I’m here and this year, I just wanted to enjoy (it) and I’m on the podium again.”

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