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Australian swimmer Cameron McEvoy made history in Shenzhen, China, on Friday by breaking the long-standing world record in the men’s 50m freestyle.
Clocking a time of 20.88 seconds, the 31-year-old Olympic champion surpassed the previous mark of 20.91 seconds set by Brazil’s Cesar Cielo in 2009.
McEvoy’s performance is particularly significant as he shaved three-hundredths of a second off a record established during the “super-suit” era of polyurethane bodysuits.
The achievement drew immediate praise from the former record holder, with Cielo taking to social media to congratulate McEvoy on his “lightning fast” swim and his ability to build a “new model” for the sport.
Congrats, Cam!
Lightning fast swim! Incredible!I saw a phrase a while ago that perfectly captures what you’ve been doing.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”… pic.twitter.com/EOFseAnDEa— Cesar Cielo (@CesarCielo) March 20, 2026
McEvoy responded with humility, citing the famous “shoulders of giants” quote to honour Cielo’s 17-year reign at the top of the all-time list.
Before this meet, McEvoy’s personal best was 21.06 seconds, which had ranked him fifth in history.
McEvoy dominated the China Open final, finishing well ahead of American runner-up Jack Alexy (21.57) and fellow Australian Kyle Chalmers (22.01), who took third.
As a two-time world champion and the reigning Olympic gold medallist from the 2024 Paris Games, McEvoy has now solidified his legacy as the fastest man in the history of the one-lap sprint.
