McEvoy 21.48 Grants Olympic Champ The Best All-Time Australia Top 15 Textile 50 Free Times
McEvoy joined on day 3 champions list at Australian Open Champs by Kaylee McKeown, 50 back, Lani Pallister, 400 free, Italian Thomas Ceccon, 100 'fly, Tara Kinder, 200 breast, Kiwi Lewis Clareburt, 200IM, Rikako Ikee, 50 'fly, and Ben Goedemans, 800 free
Cameron McEvoy dashed to the helm of the 2025 World rankings with a dominant 21.48 win in the 50m freestyle on day 3 at Australian Open Championships in Brisbane, the clock showing that two months out from World-title trials, the sprinter is in even sharper form that he was at the same meet a year ago in the way to the Olympic crown in Paris.
Holder of the Commonwealth record in 21.06, the time he clocked for the 2023 World title in Fukuoka, McEvoy, coached by Tim Lane, had no company in the race for gold but did share sub-22 status with one of his competitors today: Jamie Jack, brother of Shayna, took silver in 21.95.
McEvoy's time puts him a head of Britain's Ben Proud, Olympic silver medallist 0.05sec from the Australia in Paris on the early 2025 World Ranks:
Craig Lord
SOMAQ's McEvoy, on 21.67 in heats, now has the 15 fastest textile-suit times on the all-time Australia ranking, his winning effort today in at No15 ahead of James Magnussen's 21.55 from 2013. That took to 20 the number of slots McEvoy, "The Professor" because he knows a thing or two about quantum physics, occupies in the all-time, all suits Australian top 30 performances in the 50 free, including seven shiny suit swims.
McEvoy, speaking through Swimming Australia, noted the detail of improvement that was particularly pleasing:
“I’m stoked with that time. I didn’t expect 21.4. I was 21.3 at (Olympic) Trials last year to put that in perspective. I credit my swim this morning. I’ve been working a lot on my first 15m. I was third last to 15m in Paris, 0.2 behind Caeleb (Dressel) and the top guys. This morning in the heats I obliterated my 15m PB by more than 0.1 of a second and just spent the rest of the day on a high with that.I never thought I was a dive guy. I was definitely more of like the technique type of dude. But I lay out a plan for improving that, and then it actually happens, so that’s pretty cool. It’s a nice feeling.I can take my first 15m from this morning and marry it with my best 15m to 35m, and that’s a world record. Now I somehow need to find a way to do it at the same time. I’ve only had one three-week roster of swimming and … these results now are showing that we’re getting closer and closer to that blueprint. It’s really exciting.”
Jack's best is the 21.66 he clocked as Queensland state titles last December to become the 6th fastest Australian ever and the third swiftest among those still competing. Isaac Cooper, current Aussie No 2 with a 21.65 from semis at 2023 World titles, was fourth in Brisbane today on 22.345, adrift Tom Nowakowski, the Griffith swimmer who was coached by Sydney 2000 relay gold medallist and Australian 50m freestyle all-comers record holder (21.19, 2009) Ashley Callus at Somerset College Swim Club while studying for a Bachelor of Business at Griffith University.
McKeown At The Backstroke Double
Since this news...
Craig Lord
Craig Lord
... there's been much talk about who the big contenders may be in the new Olympic 50m dashes on backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly come LA2028. There's a long way to go until the boom of shortest races in the Olympic festival, but among the standout contenders is the first female four-times backstroke Olympic champion, Kaylee McKeown, winner of the 100m in Brisbane yesterday:
Craig Lord
World record holder in the 50m, on 26.86 for the 2023 World title, that victory part of her history 50-100-200 treble, McKeown took the Brisbane dash today in 27.22, a little down on her 27.07 of a years ago but no less impressive given the time she's been back in the water after taking a break from the sport at the back-end of 2024.
Closest to the Griffith charge now training under the guidance of Mel Marshall, who replaced Michael Bohl when he went off to help China, was another Olympic champion making her way back to full fitness, 200m queen of Paris 2024, Mollie O'Callaghan. Her 27.51 was well clear of the 28.24 in which Amber George, of New Zealand, came home in third.
Back from a break, illness and "a bad knee", O'Callaghan was pleased with her progress:
“The past couple months have been the hardest for me, especially with rehabilitation and I’m still working on that. I faced illness and a bad knee … I’m not fully there yet, it’s kind of like I’m kicking with one leg at the moment. It’s been frustrating, the build-up for this, and it’s just nice to come here and actually lean on my experience. I haven’t done that much training or main sessions, it’s all been quite modified and the process has been quite long. So, to come here and just swim for the sake of swimming with no pressure behind it or on the outcome is my main focus for the meet. I wanted to come here to Nationals and get my first race of the year out of the way and see where I was tracking along. I didn’t realise that my experience goes a long way.”
Part of her process back to best included taking pin the 400m free today. She finished fourth overall and third Aussie, in 4:10.63, the title to St Peters Western teammate Lani Pallister, coached by her mother, former Aussie Olympian Janelle Elford, at the program headed by O'Callaghan's coach, Dean Boxall.
Every record and top time listed on the start list, from World, to Australian and 'Titleholder' belongs to the absent force of another St Peters ace, Ariarne Titmus, who is just making her way back to the sport after a long post-Paris break.
Pallister's 4:02.34 (1:58.80) kept New Zealand's Erika Fairweather at bay, on 4:04.55, while Jamie Perkins completed the St-Peters Aussie podium sweep in 4:06.29 ahead off O'Callaghan. Said Pallister:
“I think that’s probably one of my fastest end season times … it was only point six off my best. So, I’ll take it. This week for me is really a training week … I think a lot of the St Peters athletes didn’t think they would also be swimming such fast times because we are technically still in training but it’s really exciting that we are, especially going into Singapore World Championships. Compared to the 800 and 1500m freestyle, the 400 event is actually not a priority for me. I swim it to improve my 800 and 1500.”
