Cameron McEvoy won’t blame illness for not swimming to potential in the final of the 100m freestyle

CAMERON McEvoy has refused to blame a rumoured illness on his 100m freestyle disappointment because he won’t let any possible excuses detract from Kyle Chalmers.

CAMERON McEvoy has refused to blame a rumoured illness on his Olympic 100m freestyle disappointment because he won’t let any possible excuses detract from teammate Kyle Chalmers and his stunning gold medal win.

Further highlighting his reputation as one of the nice guys of the pool who has handled Olympic defeat with impeccable sportsmanship, McEvoy refused to divulge any reasons why he produced such a disappointing 100m final swim.

The 22-year-old was asked specifically about rumours he had been ill leading into the race but wouldn’t confirm the speculation.

Cameron McEvoy congratulates Kyle Chalmers after his 100m freestyle win. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“Well there’s … (pauses for four seconds) … me and Rich (coach Richard Scarce) are going to sit down and pinpoint any little areas that might have had some effect,” McEvoy said.

“But I don’t want to stand here being the guy rolling off excuses it was this or that.

“Not only because that’s not the type of person I am but I also don’t want to take anything away from what Kyle has achieved.

“I think this is his moment and he should really soak it up and he deserves all the recognition he can get.”

McEvoy said he was overwhelmed by the support he’d received within his own team, from his rivals and the Australian public since his 100m disappointment.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people about it, the amount of support I’ve received not only from friends and family but the general public around the world and also my competitors too I was really surprised the amount of competitors who came up to me and spoke to me about it and were supporting me about it,” he said.

VICTORY: How Chalmers went from ‘Little Fish’ to ‘Big Tuna’

KYLE CHALMERS: What you need to know

GALLANT: McEvoy classy in defeat

PANDEMONIUM: Australia reacts to Chalmers’ golden moment

DECISION: Why Chalmers chose swimming over Aussie rules

“That was surprising and comforting and it really helps with being able to deal with it.”

McEvoy was back in the Olympic pool just 14 hours after his seventh place in the 100m final, qualifying for the 50m semi-finals in fifth place with a time of 21.80s.

For him it’s a chance to take out any lingering frustrations, and there’s bound to be plenty, on a one lap blast where tactics are thrown out the window.

McEvoy was back in the Olympic pool just 14 hours after his seventh place in the 100m final, qualifying for the 50m semi-finals in fifth place with a time of 21.80s.

For him it’s a chance to take out any lingering frustrations, and there’s bound to be plenty, on a one lap blast where tactics are thrown out the window.

It’s going to be a tough task hauling in the big boys of world sprinting as Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov set the early pace in 21.49s, just ahead of US pair Nathan Adrian (21.61s) and Anthony Ervin (21.63s) and French world champ Florent Manadou.in 21.72s.

“I feel like I can thoroughly enjoy it,” McEvoy said.

Rio day 5: Aussie gold in the pool

VIEW GALLERY

“The 50m free is different in my mind to any other race, there is no tactics it’s just dive in and swim. That’s as simple as I like it.

“I’m just going to get up and try to go as close to my best time as I can. I do believe I am in good shape to do that, but more importantly I’m just going to enjoy the experience and soak up one of my last races at these Olympic Games.”

Originally published as Cameron McEvoy won’t blame illness for not swimming to potential in the final of the 100m freestyle