Cameron McEvoy, the Australian Olympic and World 50m freestyle champion, has just rocketed to a 20.88 World Record in the dash at the China Open in Shenzhen.

The time, the first sub-21 ever in a textile suit, takes down the 20.91 at which the standard had stood to Brazil's 2008 Olympic champion Cesar Cielo Ince the dying days of the shiny suits crisis in 2009. Almost 16 years and three months have passed with no real threat to Cielo's body suited speed at home run Brazil in December 2009.

The Australian's best had been the Oceania record of 21.06 he clocked for the 2023 World title in Fukuoka.

After a 20.88, he said:

“Ecstatic. I had that target for a very long time.”

American Caeleb Dressel’s 21.04 had been the textile world best and closest any swimmer had come to Cielo's 2009 body suited blast. McEvoy, 31, added:

“I had an insane season of training after the world champs last year. I was doing some pretty special stuff in training coming into this, so I knew I had a chance to maybe go a PB, maybe go 20.99, but I couldn’t ask for anything better. It’s incredible.”

His effort still leaves six world records from the shiny suits era of February 2008, Kirsty Coventry - now IOC president - the first to set a global standard wearing a non-textile bodysuit - and 2009:

• Men: 200m and 800m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 4x100m and 4x200m free -
• Women: 200m butterfly

The Blast - great start, sizzling, rolling speed, nailed finish:

And a graceful reaction from the man who held the standard since 2009 and all that...

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