- Veteran sent Ian Thorpe into ecstasy with victory
Australia’s Cameron McEvoy has won gold in the men’s 50m freestyle at the Olympic Games.
McEvoy claimed Australia’s ninth gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Friday night at La Defense Arena.
The 30-year-old, the first Australian man to compete in four Olympic Games, won the one-lap sprint in 21.25 seconds.
The victory is McEvoy’s first Olympic gold medal and eases the disappointment he felt about the Rio Games eight years ago.
The victory sent commentator and Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe into raptures, who repeatedly shouted “Yes!” during Nine’s coverage.
His victory makes up for the disappointment of eight years ago at the Games in Rio, when he was the big favorite in the 100m freestyle, but finished seventh in a final won by fellow countryman Kyle Chalmers.
McEvoy took an extended break from swimming three years ago after the Tokyo Olympics because he was disillusioned with the sport.
But he returned to the pool with a self-proclaimed revolutionary training program.
Cam McEvoy became the first Australian man to win gold in Paris on Saturday morning with the comeback victory after becoming disillusioned with the sport in 2021.
McEvoy (right) celebrates with Great Britain’s Benjamin Proud to win his first gold at his fourth Olympics – sending Ian Thorpe into raptures
McEvoy, a physics student nicknamed The Professor, aspires to be an astronaut, basing his training on technical details in the water.
But outside the pool, he keeps fit with activities like gymnastics and rock climbing, rather than swimming endless laps.
McEvoy gives the Australian swimming team a sixth gold medal in Paris.
He joins Ariarne Titmus (women’s 400m freestyle), the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, Mollie O’Callaghan (women’s 200m freestyle), Kaylee McKeown (women’s 100m backstroke) and the women’s 4x200m freestyle team as winners in the French capital.
More to come…
