Following World Record Stunner, Cam McEvoy Leading Charge in Men’s 50 Freestyle With Rivals in Pursuit
The title of fastest man in history was an elusive mark for swimmers to chase for more than 16 years. During the polyurethane-suit era of 2009, Fred Bousquet became the first man to swim under 21 seconds with a time of 20.94, and eight months later, Cesar Cielo clipped that mark with a time of 20.91. That world record was one of four long course marks in men’s swimming dating back to 2009 before Cam McEvoy went to work last month at the China Open.
McEvoy had emerged over the past three years as a nearly-unstoppable force in the 50 free. The 31-year-old has represented Australia at four Olympics. He was best known for his 100 and 200-meter abilities early in his career, but he reimagined himself as a pure sprinter beginning in 2023. Since then, has won a pair of world titles and Olympic gold. At the start of 2026, McEvoy owned a best time of 21.06 to make him the fourth-fastest man in history.
Then came the stunning effort of 20.88, beating Cielo’s mark by three hundredths. McEvoy’s time was a whopping 0.16 better than the previous fastest time recorded in a textile suit, which stood at 21.04. Caeleb Dressel swam that mark on two occasions, on his way to a world title in 2019 and again at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021. McEvoy, meanwhile, has already spoken of a desire to swim faster and possibly extend his career all the way to the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
Not counted in the record chase is anything achieved under the farce called the Enhanced Games. Kristian Gkolomeev, a Greek swimmer with a long record of major finals appearances in the 50 free during his professional career, swam faster than Cielo’s world record last year after taking performance-enhancing substances banned in traditional competition and wearing one of the 2009-era suits. Swimmers who have signed up to race with Enhanced are being rightfully excluded from any discussion of all-time bests.
Great Britain’s Ben Proud has been another consistent force in the 50 free during the 2020s, and his best of 21.11 ranks No. 5 in history, but he retired from traditional competition last year to join the Enhanced Games.
Cam McEvoy (center) with Ben Proud and Jack Alexy after winning medals in the 50 freestyle at the 2025 World Championships — Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron
With those swimmers out of conventional competition, the only active swimmers among the top-10 in history are McEvoy and Dressel, who was the world’s dominant sprint force for five years but well off his best form since his extended break from the sport in 2022. France’s Florent Manaudou has been as fast as 21.19, but he has not competed since Paris.
One swimmer sure to remain a contender in the 50 free moving forward is American Jack Alexy, who ranks 15th all-time at 21.32. Alexy achieved that time in the World Championships semifinals last year before earning bronze in the final. Three other swimmers finished 2025 in the 21.4 range, Russia’s Egor Kornev, Serbia’s Andrej Barna and Brazil’s Gui Caribe, while 21.5s included France’s Maxime Grousset, Italy’s Leonardo Deplano, Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bukhov and American Chris Guiliano.
Of that group, two have won international honors in the event. Bukhov upset McEvoy for gold at the February 2024 World Championships while Grousset won World Championships bronze in the event in 2022. He may have challenged for a podium finish last year but chose to skip the event and focus on the 100 butterfly, a wise choice that paid off with a world title.
Another name worth mentioning here is Jordan Crooks, the Cayman Islands swimmer who became the first man to break 20 in the short course meters 50 freestyle in December 2024. However, Crooks has not competed since the 2025 NCAA Championships, leaving his future in the sport unclear, and his long course swimming never reached the level of what he accomplished in short course.
Moving forward, McEvoy remains the class of the event while swimmers such as Alexy, Barna and Deplano are the closest competition. Certainly, an opportunity exists for unproven swimmers to make a mark here, while Dressel would have a chance at contending for international medals if he can find one more surge of speed in the latter phase of his career. But it’s hard to see anyone in the next few years topping McEvoy, whose late-career surge has already made him one of the most accomplished 50-meter swimmers ever.