The Last 25 Meters Led Cameron McEvoy Towards Olympic Glory: Men’s 50 Free Analysis

The French Swimming Federation has released detailed statistics on all the swimming finals at the Paris Olympics, and in this article, we will analyze the women’s 100-meter fly final.

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In a race like the 50 freestyle, every detail is essential: reaction time, choice of underwater distance, dolphin kicks, number of breaths, strokes, and finish. EVERYTHING must be executed perfectly, as every detail can result in the loss or gain of precious hundredths of a second.

Cameron McEvoy arrives in Paris as a world champion, having won gold at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka. Despite the unpredictable nature of this race, he doesn’t let the weight of his titles intimidate him and wins his first Olympic gold medal of his career. This race is very emotional, as not only does the 30-year-old Australian win his first individual Olympic medal, but 29-year-old Ben Proud also secures silver. Finally, Florent Manaudou stands on the podium in front of his Parisian crowd, at 33, for his fourth Olympic medal in the 50 freestyle, completing one of the most experienced podiums of the entire edition.

• The gap separating McEvoy and Proud, gold and silver medalists respectively in this race, from the other finalists is significant.
• The segment between 25 and 45 meters is where the Australian built his advantage.
• Josh Liendo lost time on the start.

*Manaudou

Let’s analyze meter by meter

We’ll break down the race into two parts and focus on specific details. The first part section the non-swimming segments, such as the start and the underwater. The second section focuses on the swimming phase, including the finish.

NON-SWIMMING SEGMENTS

Start

• It is interesting to note that the fastest reaction times at the start reflect what the final podium would be.
• The fastest reaction off the blocks was McEvoy (0.56s), just like in the women’s race, where Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom recorded the fastest reaction in the final (0.62s).
• However, it was Proud who had the fastest exit from the underwater phase (3.86m/s).
• Liendo didn’t capitalize on his start, as he registered the lowest speed exiting the water (3.57m/s).

15-Meter Standings

• • At 15m, Caeleb Dressel is, as expected, in the lead thanks to his optimal start and ability to quickly engage the water with his strokes.
  • After just 5 seconds into the race, the advantage gained by the leaders over the seventh and eighth swimmers, Kristian Gkolomeev and Leonardo Deplano, is already 0.3s
  • Ben Proud is just behind the American, having made up the hundredths that separated him from the podium after the block start.

SWIMMING SEGMENTS

25-Meter Standings

• At 25 meters, Caeleb Dressel is still in the lead with 9.50s: so far, his swimming has been consistent, with a stroke frequency of about 61.1 strokes per minute.
• McEvoy starts his progression, gaining five precious hundredths and proving to be the fastest in this segment with a speed of 2.22 m/s.
• Also, Leonardo Deplano, although still 0.29s behind the leader, is one of the fastest between 15 and 25m, reaching a speed of 2.22m/s.
• Proud and Manaudou maintained the same gap they had at 15m, placing second and fourth, respectively.

• During the race, McEvoy, like Sjostrom in the women’s field, manages to maintain a high stroke rate consistently throughout the race, oscillating between 63 and 62 strokes per minute.
• Manaudou (2.13m/stroke) and Gkolomeev (2.17m/stroke) are the swimmers with the most efficient strokes. Because of this, the Frenchman’s stroke rate is indeed lower than those of the other two medalists.

Final Phase

45-Meter Standings

• Within 20 meters, McEvoy managed to take the lead, increasing the gap to 0.08s over the consistent Proud.
• The Australian, along with the Brit, experienced the least drop in speed, going from 2.23m/s to 2.15m/s, highlighting the importance of maintaining the same stroke rate and efficiency, especially between 25 and 45 meters.
• Dressel, while maintaining a high stroke rate (around 64 strokes per minute), clearly showed a decline in stroke effectiveness, dropping from 2.06m/stroke in the first 25 meters to 1.92m/stroke in the second half. In fact, he was the slowest in this segment.
• Manaudou also began to feel the pressure from McEvoy and Proud, who now had nearly a 0.4s lead over the Frenchman. Nevertheless, the other finalists also suffered speed drops, allowing Manaudou to claim fourth position, closing in on Jordan Crooks.

FINAL RESULTS

1. Cameron McEvoy 21.25
2. Benjamin Proud 21.30
3. Florent Manaudou 21.56
4. Joshua Liendo 21.58
5. Kristian Gkolomeev 21.59
6. Caeleb Dressel 21.61
7. Leonardo Deplano 21.62
8. Jordan Crooks 21.64

• In the final meters, Liendo proved to be by far the fastest, with a speed of 2.23 m/s that brought him from seventh to fourth place, just 0.02s from the podium.
• Proud and Manaudou managed to execute a final sprint, further increasing their stroke rate and speed, although the Frenchman overshot the finish slightly.
• McEvoy lost a few hundredths to the British at the finish, but still managed to touch just enough (0.05s) ahead to win the title.

CONCLUSION

There is some analogy between the women’s race won by Sarah Sjostrom and this race. In both cases, the Olympic gold medalists had the fastest reaction times at the start, but they were not in the lead at 15m. However, while the Sweden managed to take the lead by the 25m mark, the Australian unleashed his power during the final 20 meters, partly due to the explosive start characteristics of swimmers like Caeleb Dressel and Jordan Crooks and the underwater work of Benjamin Proud. A race of great consistency, instead, was that of Benjamin Proud, who secured his first Olympic medal by maintaining second place throughout the race.

Experience then rewarded the home idol Florent Manaudou, who remained in contention for fourth-fifth place and, taking advantage of Jordan Crooks‘s decline, secured his fourth Olympic podium in this event with a great final sprint.