Melbourne
\nIn just 21.27 seconds on Sunday morning, three-time Olympian Cam McEvoy rocketed into world championship and Olympic favouritism with a 50m freestyle heat swim former national record holder Brett Hawke believes will \u201csend shockwaves around the world\u201d.
\nIt comes as Matt Temple and Kyle Chalmers edged out Cody Simpson in the 100m butterfly final and Shayna Jack shaded Emma McKeon by 0.04 seconds in the 50m freestyle in Melbourne.
\nOn the final day of competition at the Australian swimming trials, ahead of next month\u2019s world championships in Japan, McEvoy jumped on the blocks at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre for his last event.
\nWith a final still to come on Sunday evening, onlookers thought McEvoy would do just enough to make the top eight.
\nHe had other ideas.
\nMcEvoy took an early lead and didn\u2019t fade away as he touched the wall in 21.27s. He was 0.76 seconds clear of Isaac Cooper in second place.
\nOn Sunday evening, McEvoy won the final comfortably, albeit in a slower time of 21.41s.
\nNot only was McEvoy\u2019s morning time the best of any swimmer in the world since the Tokyo Olympics, but it was a big improvement on his previous personal best of 21.44s from seven years ago.
\nThe next quickest time this year is France\u2019s Florent Manaudou, who clocked 21.56s this month.
\n\u201cIt feels very special,\u201d McEvoy said. \u201cIt\u2019s very calming and relieving it worked.
\n\u201cI was surprised. Going into it, I had 21.5 or 21.6 in mind. I thought 21.3 would be so sick. To do 21.2, I was very surprised.\u201d
\nMcEvoy\u2019s time was quicker than Eamon Sullivan\u2019s world record swim in 2008 (21.28s) and just shy of Ashley Callus\u2019 Australian record (21.19).
\nIt would have been fast enough to win silver at the Tokyo Olympics \u2013 behind American great Caeleb Dressel \u2013 and a gold medal at last year\u2019s world championships in Budapest.
\nThe time is even more remarkable considering McEvoy, who swam at the 2012 London Olympics, didn\u2019t race at all in 2022.
\n\u201cMy coach pulled me aside and said \u2018did you see Cam went 21.2\u2019,\u201d Chalmers said. \u201cI thought there was a fault in the system because that was such a wild time. It\u2019s just incredible.\u201d
\nAustralia has never won a medal \u2013 let alone gold \u2013 in the men\u2019s 50m freestyle at the Olympics since the race was introduced in 1988.
\nMcEvoy\u2019s remarkable feat on Sunday morning has Hawke seriously excited.
\nNot since Michael Klim in 1998 has Australia picked up a medal in the 50m freestyle at a longcourse world championship.
\nAustralia has a new sprint king, and one who has been under everyone\u2019s noses for a decade.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not a normal morning swim,\u201d Hawke told this masthead. \u201cThat\u2019s something really special. He\u2019s just stamped himself in one swim as the favourite for any major event in the next 12 months, including the world championships and Olympics. That\u2019s a massive swim.
\n\u201c21.2 seconds \u2026 not many guys are capable of going that time. No one is in and around that mark.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s one of those races that stops the swimming world. For us to have a potential favourite in that now for the Olympics, that\u2019s unheard of. Cam\u2019s just put himself in an incredible position.
\n\u201cThe thing that he\u2019s really done that\u2019s going to send shockwaves around the world is that he has put his mind and intelligence to figuring out how to swim fast over a short distance. I don\u2019t think a lot of people are specialising in that.\u201d
\nMcEvoy missed the semi-finals of the 50m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing 29th overall in the heats.
\nDressel could be McEvoy\u2019s main rival in the next 13 months but it is not clear whether he will compete this year, having taken time away from the pool.
\nMcEvoy has been to three Olympics but never won an individual medal. His best world championship result is a silver medal in the 100m freestyle in 2015.
\nHis only 50m freestyle medal on the international stage came at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
\nMcEvoy has completely revolutionised his training program, having put on an extra 10 kilograms of muscle while reducing the number of kilometres he swims each week in the pool.
\nMeanwhile, Cody Simpson has missed Dolphins selection after finishing fifth in the 100m butterfly (52.23s), behind Temple (51.35s) and Chalmers (51.61s).
\n\u201cIt\u2019s my fastest time this season, so I can\u2019t complain,\u201d Temple said. \u201cI definitely think [I can go faster in Fukuoka].\u201d
\nAustralia will send a team of 38 swimmers to Japan, with events in the pool starting on July 23.
\nIn the women\u2019s 50m freestyle, Jack (24.22s) rebounded from the disappointment of coming third in her 100m race by edging out McKeon (24.26s) and Meg Harris (24.30s).
\n\u201cI wanted to come in relaxed and have some fun,\u201d Jack said. \u201cThis week has been a rollercoaster of emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Melbourne In just 21.27 seconds on Sunday morning, three-time Olympian Cam McEvoy rocketed into world championship and Olympic favouritism with a 50m freestyle heat swim former national record holder Brett Hawke believes will \u201csend shockwaves around the world\u201d. It comes as Matt Temple and Kyle Chalmers edged out Cody Simpson in the 100m butterfly final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-338611","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n