Doha 2024, Day 6 Oceanian Recap: McEvoy Elevates Men’s 50 Free Over Fukuoka

2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

The semi-finals of the men’s 50m freestyle transpired tonight in Doha, with Australia’s Cameron McEvoy leading the pack just as he did at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.

29-year-old McEvoy punched a time of 21.23 to take the top seed for tomorrow night’s final, registering a time .02 faster than his semi swim of 21.25 from just six months ago.

In a competition where many of the top-ranked swimmers are missing, such as China’s Qin Haiyang in the men’s breaststroke events and Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan in the women’s sprint freestyle, the men’s 50m free turned in some head-turning times leading into tomorrow night’s main event.

We’ve seen other events thus far in Doha fall short of their 2023 counterparts. The men’s 200m breast winning time here in Doha, for example, was 2:07.94 from China’s Dong Zhihao compared to Haiyang’s gold medal-worthy and WR-setting result of 2:05.48 from Fukuoka.

Mollie O’s 1:52.85 world record produced en route to the women’s 200m free title in Fukuoka was head and shoulders above Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey‘s podium-topping 1:54.89 here in Doha.

Concerning the men’s splash n’ dash, however, the 2023 World Championships saw the top 12 participants in the semi-finals dip under the 22-second threshold whereas this year’s edition in Doha saw 14 competitors get under the 22-second barrier.

Additionally, the 8th seed headed into the 2023 final clocked a time of 21.88 while this year’s 8th seed, Michael Andrew of the United States, carries a mark of 21.77 into tomorrow’s last call.

Rank Top 16 Men’s 50 Free – 2024 World Championships Top 16 Men’s 50 Free – 2023 World Championships
1 Cameron McEvoy (AUS) – 21.23 Cameron McEvoy (AUS) – 21.25
2 Vlayslov Bukhov (UKR) – 21.38 Jack Alexy (USA) – 21.60
3 Ben Proud (GBR) – 21.54 Ben Proud (GBR) – 21.61
4 Bjorn Seeliger (SWE) – 21.67 Isaac Cooper (AUS) – 21.65
5 Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) – 21.72 Jordan Crooks (CAY) – 21.73
6 Kenzo Simons (NED) – 21.73 Leonardo Deplano (ITA) – 21.74
7 Isaac Cooper (AUS) – 21.74 Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) – 21.85
8 Michael Andrew (USA) – 21.77 Josh Liendo (CAN) – 21.88
9 Lorenzo Zazzeri (ITA) – 21.80 Ryan Held (USA) – 21.91
10 Leonardo Deplano (ITA) – 21.81 Vladyslov Bukhov (UKR) – 21.91
11 Ian Ho (HKG) – 21.84 Kenzo Simons (NED) – 21.92
12 Ji Yu-chan (KOR) – 21.87 Florent Manaudou (FRA) – 21.96
13 Andrej Barna (SRB) – 21.89 Diogo Ribeiro (POR) – 22.03
14 Matt King (USA) – 21.99 Meiron Cheruti (ISR) – 22.04
15 Dylan Carter (TTO) – 22.01 Nicholas Lia (NOR) – 22.12
16 Matej Dusa (SLO) – 22.11 Szebasztian Szabo (HUN) – 22.16

Something to think about as we eye tomorrow’s 50m freestyle final as a stepping stone to this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France.

National/Continental Records Through Day 6:

  • Australia
    • Men’s 50m breaststroke – Sam Williamson, 26.32 *Oceanian Record
  • New Zealand
    • Women’s 400m free – Erika Fairweather, 3:59.44
    • Women’s 4x200m free relay – 7:53.02

Medal Table (Oceania) Through Day 6:

RANK NATION GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 Australia 1 6 4 11
2 New Zealand 1 1 0 2

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TerrificLéon
1 month ago

Does anyone have any news about Qin, his preparation and the dates of the Chinese selections for the 2024 Olympics?

Chlorinetherapy
2 months ago

Big improvement in those times for Vladyslov Bukhov!

McIntosh McKeown McKeon McEvoy
Reply to  Chlorinetherapy
2 months ago

I wonder where he trains given what’s been happening in Ukraine in the last 2 years.

Amazing result!

BairnOwl
2 months ago

It was still so recent when we thought McEvoy had lost his mojo and wrote off his career. How quickly things change.

Mr Piano
Reply to  BairnOwl
2 months ago

It really shows the importance of a break and cross training. He was able to mentally reboot himself.

Cam also says he’s doing far less volume than he’s ever done, and far more intensity work and more gym work.

McIntosh McKeown McKeon McEvoy
Reply to  Mr Piano
2 months ago

His training works well for an older swimmer who already has great technique to begin with.

McIntosh McKeown McKeon McEvoy
2 months ago

So happy with McEvoy redemption tour, after he was denied his 100 free gold in 2015 Kazan by a d*per.

And after his inexplicable 2016 Rio performance.

Swemmer
Reply to  McIntosh McKeown McKeon McEvoy
2 months ago

Did Ning Zetao get caught doping?

Admin
Reply to  Swemmer
2 months ago

Ning tested positive for clenbuterol, a masking agent, in 2011.

About Retta Race

Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having just earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

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