World Cup Data Gives Cam McEvoy Starting Point in Consideration of 100 Freestyle
There’s a reason Cam McEvoy is nicknamed, “The Professor.” The Australian veteran operates via an analytical approach, constantly digesting data. The method has proven successful for the four-time Olympian, who is the reigning Olympic champion in the 50-meter freestyle, and the world-record holder in the event. Most recently, McEvoy sought to apply his diagnostic ways as the World Cup made its way along the Silk Road.
While McEvoy produced swift performances en route to a three-stop sweep of the 50 freestyle at the World Cup, it was his presence in the 100 freestyle that triggered the greatest attention. McEvoy has identified the 100 freestyle as an event he wants to pursue on the road to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and he used the World Cup as his initial testing ground for the training he has done for the event.
Yes, the short-course format of the World Cup does not equate to the demands of a long-course 100 freestyle, but it was a starting point for the 32-year-old. McEvoy wanted to gather information that he could assess, and he retrieved plenty between his visits to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
After placing second (45.36) to Russian Egor Kornev at the opening stop, where Kornev equaled the world record of 44.84, McEvoy tied the Russian at the second leg, with both men clocking 45.24. At the final stop, McEvoy improved to 45.11 while securing a victory over Kornev. Each of the finals will go under the McEvoy microscope, with coach Tim Lane weighing in with his perspective.
“So, I’ve only been training for 10 weeks for the 100 free, and I needed exposure to racing because I haven’t raced short course since 2019,” McEvoy said. “So, back-to-back-to-back weekends, I’ve scraped a lot of data. Each 100, I raced it differently so I could learn where I’m at, what I need to do. So I think I’m now in a really good spot for Beijing coming up.”
Beijing will be the site of the World Short Course Championships in December, and McEvoy has committed to race for Australia at the final major competition of the year. The meet will provide McEvoy with the chance to take down Jordan Crooks’ world record in the 50 freestyle, which stands at 19.90. McEvoy will also get another sense of his development in the 100 freestyle, with Kornev a major foe over four laps.
Over the past few years, McEvoy has revolutionized sprint training, logging considerably fewer meters than his foes, while putting in greater hours in the weight room. The Aussie has indicated that tweaks will be made to his workload to account for the longer distance of the 100 freestyle, and how he performed during the Silk Road tour will undoubtedly inform how McEvoy adjusts his program.
McEvoy is the Australian record-holder in the 100 freestyle in the long-course pool, and performing at a high level in the big tank is the ultimate goal. At least for now, McEvoy can work with the info he obtained at the World Cup.
“At the other two stops, the 50 freestyle was on Day One, so I thought I’d carry fatigue, but I didn’t. So that’s a really good learning piece of data moving forward because I’m playing around with the idea of adding the 100 (freestyle) for the relay for bigger competitions,” McEvoy said. “I’m still unsure, but getting the data tonight that I can maintain my 50-meter speed while a little bit tired from the 100, maybe it’s possible. So I’d like to go home and have a think about it.”