Textile WR Holder Cameron McEvoy Leaves Richard Scarce

The fastest 100m freestyler ever in a textile suit, Cameron McEvoy, has decided to make a big change in his training just weeks out from his nation’s Pan Pacific Trials and less than 2 years out from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Having been a longtime trainee under storied Aussie coach Richard Scarce, currently at Bond Swimming Club, McEvoy has reportedly said goodbye to his mentor in the hopes of pairing up with a different coach to spark the fire of his Olympic journey.

McEvoy has been swimming under Scarce since his Palm Beach days and followed his mentor when the coach was appointed to the helm of Bond Swimming Club located at Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland back in 2015. Eventually joining McEvoy and helping Bond become a formidable force were several emerging athletes in the form of 2017 World Championship breakout teen Elijah Winnington, Alex Graham and Brayden McCarthy.

Per The Gold Coast Bulletin, McEvoy is seeking a new home and will be trying out clubs much like fellow Olympian Mitch Larkin did when he decided to leave his longtime St. Peters Western home. McEvoy will reportedly be visiting Michael Bohl at Griffith University, which is the training ground to Olympians such as Emma McKeon, Daniel Smith, Maddie Groves and Grant Irvine. The 47.04 100m freestyler will also be visiting Chris Urguhart at Southport and David Lush at Brisbane, the latter of whom earned recent Coach of the Year honors from the Australian Coaches and Swim Teachers Association.

Of his decision to make a move, McEvoy told The Gold Coast Bulletin, “The decision was definitely up there with one of hte hardest things I’ave had to do in my life…both making the decision and conveying the decision. But, I got a lot of support from Rich when we spoke about it and his main concern was just to get me into whatever program is best for me in order to get me wherever I can get in swimming.

“It was really nice. I know Rich really well and I know he would support me regardless.” (The Gold Coast Bulletin)

McEvoy recorded his historic 47.04 100m freestyle swim in April 2016 and wound up taking the freestyle treble at those Australian National Championships by earning the 50m and 200m free national titles as well. However, in Rio, McEvoy faltered, finishing 7th in the 100m freestyle final well out of the medals. He found himself out of the 50m final entirely.

The next year at the World Championships in Budapest, McEvoy just missed the podium in 4th place in the 100m free, while missing out of the 50m final. Flash forward to the 2018 season and McEvoy barely made the 100m freestyle event individually for the Commonwealth Games, sliding into 3rd at his nation’s Trials in 48.62. He fared one place better in the 50m free where he garnered silver in 22.02, while his 200m free time of 1:48.67 fell to 8th in the final field.

In front of a home crowd, however, McEvoy was able to earn some hardware, collecting bronze at the Commonwealth Games this past April in the 50m (21.92) while also helping his 4x100m freestyle relay earn gold. However, his lead-off of 48.91, along with his 4th place finishing 48.44 in the 100m individual event were both a far cry from his former swimmer self who nailed 11 sub-48 second 100m freestyles since 2013.

McEvoy, along with the rest of the Australian big guns, will be racing at the Australian Pan Pacific Trials coming up on June 30th in Adelaide. That meet, along with the Commonwealth Games results themselves, will determine who will represent the green and gold against the likes of America and Japan, among other nations, at the Pan Pacific Championships this August in Tokyo.