Cameron McEvoy eyes fastest race of his life in 50m freestyle at Paris Olumpics

Cameron McEvoy has built his entire Olympic campaign around a detailed training program and very specific numbers. Now he is doing everything possible to forget the data.

Only Cameron McEvoy would use a scientific comedy series as a mental escape from his own head space ahead of an Olympic Games swimming final.

The professor of the swim team who has built his entire Olympic campaign around a detailed training program and very specific numbers is now doing everything possible to forget the data, get out of his head and just let it flow.

That means indulging in Netflix binge sessions of the Big Bang Theory and consuming as much Olympic sport on television as he can — anything to stop himself thinking about his own speed theory that his entire Paris preparation is timed to deliver the fastest race of his life.

McEvoy set up his date with destiny when he booked a spot in the 50 freestyle final in 21.38s, tied with Briton Benjamin Proud.

The 30-year-old swam 21.32s in the heat so he hasn’t exactly made the time progress he envisaged for his Paris path to gold, but believes he can go faster in the final.

“That’s the goal. But we’ve seen it many times here the final is not so much the fastest ones just hand on the wall first,” McEvoy said.

Cameron McEvoy has qualified equal fastest for the 50m freestyle final. Picture: Adam Head

“I’m very time orientated but this time around I just need to be process oriented and just hand on the wall as well as I can. And that’s it. No time, no nothing, just that.

“I’d say there’s a little bit in each section to clean up (from the semi-final).

“The 50 it’s so technically critical to get everything right.

“I’m not going in there expecting I’m gonna nail everything, I’ll just do it as best as I can, get my hand on the wall as best as I can. And then yeah, fingers crossed.”

This is not the first time McEvoy has gone into an Olympic final with favouritism, he entered the 2016 Rio Olympic 100m final as the man to beat but finished seventh to Kyle Chalmers.

But a wiser and more content McEvoy knows the mistakes and pitfalls to avoid mentally as he seeks redemption.

“I think the biggest thing is just understanding the whole context is different, both in terms of like in the Olympics during the comp and also the whole preparation leading up to it, where I’m now as a person and an athlete, very different,” he said.

“So it’s just about reminding myself of the difference in context and how that flows on into just being able to execute what I can.

“All my training is around repeatability and repeatability at the speeds I need to be at so just really having trust in that and remembering where I am.

“Like two years ago, I wouldn’t have said I’d be here, let alone in the position I’m in now. So being grateful for that.”

MCEVOY WITH SCORE TO SETTLE AT FOURTH OLYMPIC GAMES

By Julian Linden

Like a jilted lover, Australia’s fastest swimmer has a score to settle with his beloved Olympic Games.

Although he has earned three bronze medals from his past three trips to the Olympics, Cam McEvoy really hasn’t had much luck at the circus.

If he had, he might well have a gold medal, or possibly two, because twice he’s gone in as the favourite and come up empty-handed.

The first occasion was at London in 2012, when he was part of the Australian 4x100m freestyle relay that finished fourth.

Four years later, he went to Rio ranked No. 1 in the world for the individual 100m but faded in the final to finish seventh while the gold went to his teenage teammate Kyle Chalmers.

Cameron McEvoy (L) congratulates Kyle Chalmers after he won gold in 2016. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images

Back for a fourth shot, now as the oldest member of the team, McEvoy is confident Paris will reignite his passion for the Olympics.

“It’s definitely a pinch myself moment but it’s also an opportunity I guess for me to rewrite my relationship with the Olympics,” he said.

“I’ve had three Olympics so far, three very, unique experiences. And a lot of them have been sort of like a roller coaster.

“So the privileged position I’m in now, where I didn’t think I would be in on the team again, let alone being in the position to potentially get my hand on the wall first or to get a medal, it’s something that I can’t take for granted.”

While lady luck may have deserted him in the past, one thing McEvoy has always had in his favour is sheer speed.

He became Australia’s fastest 100m sprinter in 2016 when he posted a time of 47.04 seconds and added the 50m record last year when he won his first world championship gold medal in 21.06.

He’s ditched the 100m to focus all his attention on the single-lap dash and is confident he can get the job done even though the nature of the race is that the medals will be decided by tiny margins but the numbers are on his side.

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Everyone who has broken 21.5 seconds in the Olympic final has always won a medal in the 50m freestyle and McEvoy has dipped under that mark 10 times in the last 12 months.

“Things are moving really well. I’m hitting some PBs (personal best times) in the water and swimming as fast as I ever have in training, which is giving me a massive confidence boost,” he said.

“For my fourth Olympics, I feel very, very relaxed. When I think back to the past three, all of them were very, very different contexts.

“This time, the relaxation is there, which is really good but as we get closer, we do want the nerves and anticipation to kind of escalate because you can ride that and carry that along.”

While McEvoy will go in as the slight favourite, the obvious danger is American Caeleb Dressel, the defending champion from Tokyo.

Dressel has taken a break from the sport since then to manage his mental health issues, but looks to be hitting the straps at the right time and McEvoy is relishing the extra challenge.

US champion Caleb Dressel is the major threat to Cam McEvoy. Picture: Eric W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

“Having Caeleb there is awesome. He’s obviously legendary in the sprint world who’s had an incredible run,” McEvoy said.

“Being a big fan of the 50m free myself and dissecting it as much as I can, you can’t get someone who has a better dive than he does, so I’m just excited to have him there, but not only not only against him, but the best field that the world has to offer.

“There’s definitely a handful of competitors who are going to be up there. I couldn’t stand here and say there’s one that stands head and shoulders above the other.

“Each of them have their own strengths. And with Dressel being out of the water for a little bit, coming back, and still making progress every time he swims, I am definitely not going to go into this underestimating him.

“I know that he’s had the quickest 50m on the board in the last four years, so I’m definitely keeping an eye on him but it’s looking like the 50m freestyle has the most depth that it’s had so it’s going to be pretty exciting.”

Originally published as Cameron McEvoy eyes fastest race of his life in 50m freestyle at Paris Olumpics