The men's 50 metre freestyle event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

took place between 11–12 August at the

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Summary

Sixteen years after he tied for the gold with

Gary Hall, Jr. Gary Wayne Hall Jr. (born September 26, 1974) is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics and won ten Olympic medals (five gold, three silver, two bronze). He is a former wor ...

, U.S. swimmer

Anthony Ervin Anthony Lee Ervin (born May 26, 1981) is an American competition swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and earned a silver med ...

, 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 ] Florent Manaudou (; born 12 November 1990) is a French competitive swimming (sport), swimmer, an Olympic champion of the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, and the younger brother of Laure Manaudou, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist i ...

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 Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...

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 Benjamin Proud (born 21 September 1994) is an English competitive swimmer, representing Great Britain at the Olympic Games, the FINA World Aquatics Championships and LEN European Aquatics Championships, and England at the Commonwealth Games. Pr ...

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 Bradley Edward Tandy (born 2 May 1991) is a South African Olympic swimmer. He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He competed in the 50 m freestyle event and placed 6th overall with a time of 21.79 seconds. In 2018, Tandy plac ...

shared the sixth spot in a matching 21.79, with Lithuanian swimmer

Simonas Bilis Simonas Bilis (born 11 November 1993) is a Lithuanian swimmer. He is the current national record holder in the 50-meter, 100-meter freestyle (long course) and 50-meter, 100-meter freestyle (short course). Bilis represented Lithuania at the 2015 ...

(22.08) closing out the field. Other notable swimmers featured Australia's

Cameron McEvoy Cameron McEvoy (born 13 May 1994) is an Australian competitive swimmer who represented his country at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Olympics. Career Junior At the 2011 World Junior Championships in Lima, Peru, ...

, Russia's Vladimir Morozov, Manaudou's brother-in-law and countryman

Frédérick Bousquet Frédérick Bousquet (, born 8 April 1981 in Perpignan) is a retired freestyle and butterfly swimmer from France. He was the holder of the world record in the 50 m freestyle in a time of 20.94 in long course, set on 26 April 2009 at the ...

, and Trinidad and Tobago's

George Bovell George Richard Lycott Bovell (born 18 July 1983) is an Olympic bronze medalist swimmer and former world record holder from Trinidad and Tobago. Bovell is also a two-time World Championship bronze medalist. Olympic career George Bovell represen ...

, 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.

Qualification

The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event was 22.27 seconds. Up to two swimmers per

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

(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.

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics - Men's 50 metre freestyle Men's 00050 metre freestyle

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Men's events at the 2016 Summer Olympics