McEvoy chasing first global 100m freestyle title in Budapest

The last time Cameron McEvoy spoke this boldly about his prospects, he was about to swim his fastest 100m freestyle.

Cameron McEvoy celebrates winning the 100m freestyle at the Australian championships in Brisbane in April.

The last time Cameron McEvoy spoke this boldly about his prospects, he was about to swim the fastest 100m freestyle the world had ever seen without the aid of a supersuit, at last year’s Olympic trials.

If McEvoy had gone anywhere near that 47.04sec swim four months later in Rio, he would have won the gold medal easily (teenage compatriot Kyle Chalmers won in 47.58sec), and that is the bitter reality the Gold Coast physics student has had to digest over the past year.

But he does seem to have put it behind him on the run into the world championships in Budapest, where he is intent on finally ­claiming a global 100m freestyle title.

“In 2013, I was fourth. In 2015, I was second. Now the only improvement is to go out and get that title,’’ he said this week.

“In 2013, I was 0.17sec from winning. In 2015, I was 0.12sec from winning. So that’s two world titles I have missed in the space of 0.29sec.

“I think coming out with the world title would be really nice for me mentally, but I think what would give me the most ­confidence would be to do a very nice process-driven swim.’’

Unlike last year, McEvoy does not have the top ranking and the target on his back this time. He is second on this year’s world rankings behind Briton Duncan Scott (by a mere 0.01sec) and they are two of four men who have swum around 47.9sec this year.

But the Australian champion is confident he can go much quicker in Budapest next week after a flawless preparation since the ­national trials in April.

“I posted a 47.9 (at the trials) off a preparation that was definitely not the best I have had because of a long break after the Olympics and that still ranks me second in the world and 0.01sec behind first,’’ he said.

“I can take a lot of confidence out of that. I feel like a much stronger, fitter athlete now than I was then.

“I also have the knowledge that I posted a 47.0 (last year) and knowing I have done that time gives me confidence and I definitely think that time isn’t the magnum opus of my career.

“It’s not going to be the fastest time. I can see improvements in my strength and my fitness and I definitely can see myself going faster.’’

However, that won’t be his focus in Budapest.

“It would be nice to go a fast time but it’s more about the ­process and getting that connected swim at the major championships and hopefully coming out with that gold medal,” McEvoy said.

He has done the required soul-searching after his Olympic flop and has a mental image of himself as a man at the centre of a cosmic tug of war, with ropes around his waist being pulled away from him in every direction.

McEvoy’s ambition in Budapest is to let those ropes lose their tension so he has some breathing room.

He said his naturally analytical mind sometimes led him to obsess too much over the details rather than letting his performance happen.

“This time I have tried to trust the entire process and let it unfold naturally and know that it will come together in the end. I have to trust that I am going to swim well regardless.

“I feel like I am getting much better at it, but being a scientist, it’s hard to let trust overpower the need to know everything and be in control.’’

His ambition in Budapest is an unscientific desire to “just let it flow’’.

He also has more responsibility as the senior member of the young Australian men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team that will compete tomorrow with modified ­expectations in the absence of Chalmers.

At 23, McEvoy is the eldest of a group that includes two teenagers — Jack Cartwright (18) and Louis Townsend (19), as well as Zac ­Incerti (21) and Alex Graham (22).

He believes the new incarnation creates an opportunity to establish a new identity and culture for a relay team that has had a troubled history of underperformance since winning an unexpected world title in 2011.

McEvoy said he wanted to help “build a new perspective of what that relay means and how we swim it’’.

“It’s super exciting,’’ he said. “They have done some pretty incredible stuff in training which gets me excited, not only for here but for Tokyo in 2020.

“In that time there are a lot of opportunities for huge leaps forward. You almost feel like they can pull out something special or magical when it comes to doing the relay.’’

The world swimming championships begin in Budapest ­tomorrow night (AEST).