2026 CHINA SWIMMING OPEN
- March 19th – March 22nd
- Longgang Universiade Center Natatorium, Shenzhen, China
- LCM (50m)
- Psych Sheets
- Results
- Livestream
- Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap/Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap/Day 3 Finals Recap
- Day 4 Prelims Recap/Day 4 Finals Recap
The diving block from which Cam McEvoy started in his World Record-setting 50 free at the China Open will be preserved at the Shenzhen Stadium Sports Museum, having been removed by the Chinese Swimming Federation after the recent China Open meet. They had the newly-minted world record holder sign the block before preserving it for posterity, witnessed by his nine-month old son Hartley.
McEvoy did not spend long on the block during 50 free final, exploding off with a reaction time of 0.53 seconds. The first 15 meters of his swims has been a focus since this time last year, and that work was clearly apparent in Shenzhen.
The block will be on display at the Shenzhen Sports Stadium Museum, on the same grounds as the pool in which McEvoy set the record. The multi-event Shenzhen Sports Stadium was opened on 28th March 2025 and includes, among others, an ice hockey complex and an International Class A standard soccer stadium in addition to the pool facilities.
Despite the prize money on offer and appearance fees of $20,000, there were no bonuses at the event for breaking a world record. McEvoy racked up winnings of $10,000 thanks to his win in the 50 free, but was 0.01 seconds off the podium and a potential payout in the 50 fly.
McEvoy broke Cesar Cielo’s 17-year-old standard of 20.91 in the 50 free with his 20.88 effort, downing one of the final remaining men’s individual super-suited world records from 2008-2009.
Only three now remain in the form of Paul Biedermann’s 1:42.00 in the 200 free, Zhang Lin’s 7:32.00 in the 800 free, and Aaron Peirsol’s 1:51.92 in the 200 back.
This was McEvoy’s first-ever swim under 21 seconds, and outlines his dominance in an event which he had only zeroed in on in the last four years. He was the top seed in the 100 free going into the 2016 Rio Olympics after swimming 47.04 at Australian Trials, but fell to 7th in the final in a time of 48.12.
After winning relay bronze at the Tokyo Olympics but placing 29th (50 free) and 24th (100 free) individually, he took a 12-month hiatus from the sport and radically reformed his training program once he returned.
He dropped his weekly volume tenfold to around 3000 meters a week and focused on explosiveness above all else. That refactoring has seen him win two world championships in the 50 free, as well as finally claiming Olympic gold in the 2024 50 free final.
McEvoy’s result earlier this month is by far his fastest in-season swim, bettering the 21.27 he swam at the 2023 Australian Trials, and points to a potentially rapid summer for him. He will have the opportunity to compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine this summer. He did not compete at the most recent edition of the Commonwealth Games, held in Birmingham in 2022, but won bronze in the 50 free in a time of 21.92 at the 2018 edition.
not cam teasing a return to the 4×100 on 1 April
https://www.instagram.com/p/DWkoI31D4X2/
@Braden Keith, I don’t know if you watched the China Open, but it blew my mind how well organized the meet was (literally up there with Worlds/OGs).
The swimming fan base there is huge that they were able to sell out 5000 tickets over the weekend (according to James Gibson’s latest IG post). Crazy !!
We would love to hear from the American swimmers who attended talk about their experience in Shenzhen, the activities they got to do with the Chinese swimmers outside the pool, recapping their swim meet and their interactions with swimming fans there who showered them with gifts.
best swim since paris, including Leon’s 2IM
Marchand’s 200IM, Popovici 46.51
Maertens’ 3:39.96
Cam beat the 50 free textile record by 0.16. Maertens beat the 400 free textile record by 0.12. That’s a 0.76% improvement by Cam and 0.06% improvement by Maertens. Almost 13x bigger improvement.
It’s not even really a discussion tbh.
neither is Popovici’s non world record. Even though that was a great swim as well.
I’ll start the bidding at $50,000
How to build a swim culture.
3000 Meters a week? Did I read that right? My God, how we must be over swimming age groupers.
The tricky bit is that he did a lot more meters than that as an age grouper.
We can’t isolate what Cam is doing now from the base he built when he was younger. This may have worked without that base, or it may not have. Not enough data to know yet.
Idk if we can even understand what that “base” gave him. If anything from it still helps today, it’s grooving certain movement patterns.
Do you need a decade plus of a billion meters a week to do that in a way that’s beneficial for what he’s doing now? Dunno!
I agree with Steve, is it the training base or is it the years of technical refinement? There are studies that show intensity at younger ages leads to VO2max development and improvements in the cardiovascular system that would not otherwise be there, but those seem more beneficial for longer exercise.
Kids needs repetition of proper mechanics, the fitness in doing so takes care of itself. It’s going to be a much easier path to sprint stardom if the stroke is near perfect. The explosiveness and strength can all be trained as young adults.
He is doing less than that now apparently.
But of course he is doing a f$&kton of other work!
aura
Ok