Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few months, you know that World Aquatics announced the addition of 50s of backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games event lineup.
The swimming community’s response has been mostly positive, with Olympians and swim enthusiasts vocalizing their excitement for these rapid-fire races.
Speculation of who potentially could be the first-ever 50m sprint Olympic champions continues to take place around the globe, fueled by the thrilling performances we saw at this year’s World Championships.
However, not everyone thinks these one-lap feats are a good thing, as Dutch track Olympian and sports management guru Jos Hermens called the addition of stroke 50s ‘a joke’.
Speaking to De Morgan last month, Hermens conveyed, “How many more events do you want to add?
“You often see the same swimmers winning the 100 and 200 meters. Why add the 50 meters? In track and field, there’s no question of the 60 meters becoming an Olympic event, is there?”
Hermens also pointed to what he insinuates as an American bias with the inclusion of these new races.
“The American swimmers will naturally have to shine in LA.
“Besides, most sponsors are from the US, so commercially speaking, they’ll benefit. The Australians will also welcome the arrival of the new swimming events, with the 2032 Brisbane Games in mind.
“The American and Australian swimmers will dominate even more. Soon, a swimmer will win ten times: what will an Olympic medal mean then?” (De Morgan)
Does the claim hold up?
Of the 6 new events being added to the LA28 Olympic schedule, the Americans won two: the women’s 50 back (Katharine Berkoff) and women’s 50 fly (Gretchen Walsh). While Walsh is undoubtedly dominant in the 50 fly, Berkoff’s win was in the absence of Australian Kaylee McKeown, who is probably a slight favorite for LA in that event.
American men won no medals in the 50 meter stroke races, while the American women won three (gold in the 50 back and 50 fly, plus Regan Smith’s silver in the women’s 50 back).
This sentiment is the polar opposite of some of the opinions voiced by Olympians worldwide.
For instance, we reported how British multi-Olympic champion Adam Peaty, who is bypassed this year’s World Championships, was one of the first elite athletes to respond to the announcement.
Via Instagram, the world record holder stated, “50m Sprint Events have just been added to @la28games which confirms my attempt to be at my Fourth Olympic Games.
“This is the best result for our incredible sport and will allow more people to be part of it and stay in it much longer. Thank you @world_aquatics for this amazing decision.”
He clearly doesn’t know what he’s on about with the “American swimmers have to shine” part of his argument. Of the 6 new events, currently only one is undoubtedly dominated by an American.
If you don’t like 50s don’t watch them. 50s don’t take anything away from other events.
When they added Mixed relays and Synchronized Diving, they threw open the barn door wide open for virtually anything in the future. So why not add 4 x 400 free & IM and 4 x 1500 free relays, to give the distance swimmers and IMers their fair due too? Winter Olympics have lost their way too with the likes of Ski Cross for those who can no longer compete in Downhill and Skeleton for those who couldn’t cut it in Luge and the ridiculous Mixed Snowboard Cross for starters. A medal for everyone…
I think he probably draws a somewhat honest conclusion in terms of the number of swimming events you can medal in being a bit disproportionate to other disciplines in the Olympics. Should we start giving out medals for somebody here running the 100 m dash backwards? Or skipping instead of running?
We already have the 50 M freestyle which typically determines the fastest person in the pool. I think the other 50s should just be saved for the world championships of aquatics.
It‘s not about 50‘s or not 50‘s. It‘s about too many disciplines that make Swimming extremely unpopular. Even Swimmers can‘t remember the winners of all.
I really think the addition of the 50s comes down to increasing TV time and name recognition in the sport. You will have big name athletes (swimmers like Peaty, Chalmers, Dressel, etc.) potentially able to stay in the sport for more years because the way you train for 50s is more sustainable. Granted Phelps and Thorpe weren’t sprinters, but imagine the publicity and ratings bump you could have had to see those types of swimmers swimming in an additional 1-2 Olympics as a 50 specialist. The 50 free has honestly always been my least favorite Olympic event to watch. But if you’ve already got the 50 free, why not have the other 3 strokes? And medal inflation naturally happens as… Read more »
100% agree, and I was a sprinter. The splash and dash 50s are a joke. The best swimmer doesn’t win them, dilutes the medals and they are terrible to watch. Especially someone who doesn’t know the sport. It’s hard for a non swimmer casual sports fan to even tell what happened during a splash and dash, makes the sport look foolish.
It’s great that there are 50s .. the sprint swimmers deserve the opportunity