| Men's 50 metre freestyle at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Aquatics Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Dates | 11 August 2016 (heats & semifinals) 12 August 2016 (final) | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 85 from 72 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 21.40 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| ← 20122020 → | |||||||||||||
| Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Qualification | ||
| Freestyle | ||
| 50 m | men | women |
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | women | |
| 1500 m | men | |
| Backstroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Breaststroke | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Butterfly | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| Individual medley | ||
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| Freestyle relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| 4 × 200 m | men | women |
| Medley relay | ||
| 4 × 100 m | men | women |
| Marathon | ||
| 10 km | men | women |
The men's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 11–12 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
Summary
Sixteen years after he tied for the gold with Gary Hall, Jr., U.S. swimmer Anthony Ervin, aged 35, reclaimed his title in the program's shortest race to become the oldest male champion in Olympic swimming history. He threw down a gold-medal time of 21.40 to touch out the defending titleholder Florent Manaudou of France by a hundredth of a second. Manaudou was quick off the blocks, but could not catch Ervin near the wall to finish with a silver in 21.41. Meanwhile, Ervin's teammate Nathan Adrian swam to another bronze-medal feat at the Games with a 21.49.
Separated the top three by almost two tenths of a second, Great Britain's Benjamin Proud finished off the podium with a fourth-place time in 21.68, while Ukraine's Andriy Govorov, who led a vast field of swimmers earlier in the heats, slipped shortly to fifth in 21.74. Brazil's hometown favorite Bruno Fratus, fourth-place finalist from London 2012, and South Africa's Brad Tandy shared the sixth spot in a matching 21.79, with Lithuanian swimmer Simonas Bilis (22.08) closing out the field.
Other notable swimmers featured Australia's Cameron McEvoy, Russia's Vladimir Morozov, Manaudou's brother-in-law and countryman Frédérick Bousquet, and Trinidad and Tobago's George Bovell, who scored a twenty-seventh place finish in his fifth Olympic appearance.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record |  César Cielo (BRA) |
20.91 | São Paulo, Brazil | 18 December 2009 | |
| Olympic record | César Cielo (BRA) |
21.30 | Beijing, China | 16 August 2008 |
Qualification
Main article: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics – QualificationThe Olympic Qualifying Time for the event was 22.27 seconds. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) could automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time was 23.05 seconds. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time was eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events was reached. NOCs without a male swimmer qualified in any event could also use their universality place.
Competition format
The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.
Results
Heats
The swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the semifinals.
Semifinals
The swimmers with the best 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 5 | Florent Manaudou |  France |
21.32 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Andriy Govorov |  Ukraine |
21.46 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 5 | Anthony Ervin |  United States |
Q | ||
| 4 | 1 | 4 | Nathan Adrian | United States |
21.47 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | 6 | Benjamin Proud |  Great Britain |
21.54 | Q, NR |
| 6 | 2 | 7 | Bruno Fratus | Brazil |
21.71 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Simonas Bilis |  Lithuania |
Q, NR | ||
| 8 | 1 | 7 | Brad Tandy |  South Africa |
21.80 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | 2 | Luca Dotto |  Italy |
21.84 | |
| 10 | 1 | 3 | Vladimir Morozov |  Russia |
21.88 | |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | Cameron McEvoy |  Australia |
21.89 | |
| 12 | 1 | 6 | Santo Condorelli |  Canada |
21.97 | |
| 13 | 1 | 2 | Kristian Gkolomeev |  Greece |
21.98 | |
| 14 | 1 | 8 | Norbert Trandafir |  Romania |
21.99 | |
| 15 | 2 | 1 | Ítalo Duarte | Brazil |
22.05 | |
| 16 | 1 | 1 | Shinri Shioura |  Japan |
22.18 |
Final
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
3 | Anthony Ervin | United States |
21.40 | |
 |
4 | Florent Manaudou | France |
21.41 | |
 |
6 | Nathan Adrian | United States |
21.49 | |
| 4 | 2 | Benjamin Proud | Great Britain |
21.68 | |
| 5 | 5 | Andriy Govorov | Ukraine |
21.74 | |
| 6 | 7 | Bruno Fratus | Brazil |
21.79 | |
| 8 | Brad Tandy | South Africa |
|||
| 8 | 1 | Simonas Bilis | Lithuania |
22.08 |
References
- ^ "Men's 50m Freestyle". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- Auerbach, Nicole (12 August 2016). "Anthony Ervin becomes oldest male individual swimming champion". USA Today. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- Baldwin, Alan (12 August 2016). "Swimming: Ervin wins gold 16 years after his first". Reuters. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- "US swimmer Anthony Ervin wins Olympic gold in men's 50M freestyle; Nathan Adrian takes bronze". New York Post. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "Anthony Ervin Once Again Claims Olympic 50 Free Gold, Sixteen Years After Original". Swimming World Magazine. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- "Andrii Govorov Qualifies First for 50 Freestyle Semifinals". Swimming World Magazine. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- "Cate And Bronte Campbell Miss The Rio Olympics Podium". The Huffington Post. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- "Brazil's Cesar Cielo breaks 50m freestyle world record". France24. 18 December 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- "Brazil Long Course Championships: Cesar Cielo Sets World Record". Swimming World Magazine. 18 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- "'Big Cesar' races to first Brazilian swim gold". ESPN. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- "Rio 2016 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- "Tanzania: Swimming Body Lauds Hilal's Rio Feat". Tanzania Daily News. AllAfrica.com. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
| Olympic champions in men's 50 m freestyle | |
|---|---|
| 50 yards | |
| 50 metres | |
