2024 Swammy Awards: Oceanian Male Swimmer of the Year – Cameron McEvoy

12/20/2024 04:30 PM

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

See all of our 2024 Swammy Awards here.

Cameron McEvoy had to stare his Olympic demons square in the face this year, and he didn’t blink.

The Australian sprinter was the clear-cut favorite to win gold in the men’s 100 freestyle at the 2016 Games in Rio, having produced a time of 47.04, the fastest-ever in a textile suit, at the Olympic Trials a few months earlier.

However, despite a quick 47.00 relay split early in the meet in the men’s 4×100 free relay, McEvoy was unable to deliver individually at the Games. Racing in the pressure-packed final, he fell to seventh place in a time of 48.12, more than a second slower than he had gone at the Trials.

In the 50 free, after setting a lifetime best of 21.44 at the Olympic Trials, McEvoy clocked 21.89 in the semis to finish 11th and miss the final.

For the next six years, McEvoy never quite managed to reach the heights he had in early 2016. He was a serviceable relay contributor for the Aussies, winning some World Championship medals and even an Olympic bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in the 4×100 free relay, but his career hit a resurgence in 2023.

Opting to fully dial in on the 50 free, McEvoy quickly established himself as the world’s fastest man in water. At the Australian Trials in June 2023, he went 21.27 in the 50 free, marking his first best time in the event in seven years, and he peaked at the World Championships in Fukuoka, winning gold in a time of 21.06, his first career world title to rank him #4 all-time.

Having established himself as the frontrunner for Olympic gold in the 50 free with that swim, McEvoy came into the year knowing his career would largely be defined by a 21-second span on August 2nd in Paris.

The now 30-year-old started his year off by ripping a time of 21.13 in the prelims of the 2024 World Championships in Doha before settling for silver in the final in a time of 21.45. Although his heats swim showed he was on incredible form, failing to match that in the final could be seen as an omen of what was to come at the Olympics—could he perform under the biggest pressure of all?

After an impressive showing at the Australian Olympic Trials in June, winning the 50 free final in 21.35, McEvoy rolled into Paris as the big favorite.

He was granted the ability to arrive at Australia’s pre-Olympic training camp later than everyone else so he could stay dialed in on his program at home for an extra week, and then when speaking to media at the camp one week out of the Games, he was open about how he viewed Paris as an opportunity to “rewrite his relationship” with the Olympics.

"I didn't think I would be on the team again at an Olympics, let alone with the chance to potentially get my hand on the wall first or to get a medal," he said.

"It's something that I can't take for granted, but also something where I definitely need to take a step back and just appreciate the opportunity to relate to the Olympic experience on a new level, in a different context, and to walk away really proud of everything I've done."

And when that opportunity finally came, he executed perfectly.

After having to wait until the sixth day of swimming in Paris to compete, McEvoy qualified first out of the prelims of the 50 free in 21.32, an then led the field in the semi-finals, clocking 21.38.

In the final, he got the job done, putting up a time of 21.25 to edge out Great Britain’s Ben Proud (21.30) and win the first Olympic gold medal of his career eight years after it slipped away in Rio.

McEvoy may have only raced one event (not even any relays) at the Olympics, and only at a handful of meets in 2024, but he lands the Swammy for Oceanian Male Swimmer of the Year for the first time after exorcising his demons in Paris.

In addition to his Olympic gold, McEvoy picked up a pair of medals at the 2024 Worlds in Doha, earning a bronze medal in the men’s 50 fly to go along with his silver in the 50 free.

He was back in the water just under a month ago at the Japan Open, showing he’s rounding into form for 2025 with a 21.70 clocking in the 50 free.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Elijah Winnington (AUS) – Winnington was among the more active Australian men this year, racing at the Worlds in Doha, the Olympics in Paris, and then Short Course Worlds in Budapest earlier this month. Kicking things off with silver medals in the men’s 400 free (3:42.86) and 800 free (7:42.95) at Worlds in February, the latter marking a personal best time, Winnington unleashed a blistering time in the 400 free at the Australian Open Championships in April, clocking 3:41.41 to narrowly miss his PB of 3:41.22 from 2022. The 24-year-old then won the first individual Olympic medal of his career in Paris, claiming silver in the 400 free (3:42.21) while also making the final in the 800 free (setting a best time of 7:42.86 in the prelims) and winning bronze on the men’s 4×200 free relay. Closing out the year at Short Course Worlds, Winnington won gold in the 400 free in a PB of 3:35.89, and added a silver medal on the 4×200 free relay. During the meet, he was open about the mental difficulties he had post-Olympics and prior to SC Worlds.
• Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – Chalmers won an Olympic medal in the 100 free for the third straight Games, earning silver in Paris in a time of 47.48. China’s Pan Zhanle was unstoppable en route to winning gold, but Chalmers was the best of the rest, edging out former world record holder David Popovici by .01 for silver. Chalmers also delivered a 46.59 anchor leg in the final of the men’s 4×100 free relay, moving the Aussies up from fourth to the silver medal with the fastest split in the field. He also anchored the Aussie men to sixth in the medley relay. Not unlike McEvoy, Chalmers primarily focuses on one single event at this point in his career, but he’s always able to deliver when it matters.

Past Winners:

• 2023 – Sam Short, Australia
• 2022 – Zac Stubblety-Cook, Australia
• 2021 – Zac Stubblety-Cook, Australia
• 2020 – Matt Wilson, Australia
• 2019 – Matt Wilson, Australia
• 2018 – Kyle Chalmers, Australia
• 2017 – Mack Horton, Australia
• 2016 – Kyle Chalmers, Australia
• 2015 – Mitch Larkin, Australia
• 2014 – Thomas Fraser-Holmes, Australia
• 2013 – Christian Sprenger, Australia

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