Australia’s Cameron McEvoy broke the men’s 50m freestyle world record at the China Swimming Open in Shenzhen yesterday, clocking 20.88 seconds to surpass César Cielo’s long-standing mark of 20.91 set in 2009 during the supersuit era.
The 31-year-old Olympic champion secured a clear margin in the one-length sprint, finishing ahead of the United States’ Jack Alexy (21.57), with Australia’s Kyle Chalmers third in 22.01.
“It feels crazy,” McEvoy said. “I’ve been putting a lot of effort into training to go under 21 seconds. My initial goal was 20-point-anything, even if it was 20.99, I would have been very happy. But to get 20.88 is very exciting.”
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McEvoy, who entered the meet with a personal best of 21.06, won by a rare margin for a 50m sprint to claim the title.
The result adds a world record to his career achievements, which include Olympic gold at Paris 2024 and a world title in 2025.
Other highlights from the meet included Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey winning the women’s 50m freestyle in 24.41, Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan taking the women’s 200m freestyle (1:53.52), and American Regan Smith claiming the women’s 200m backstroke in 2:04.93.
