16 years ago, Anthony Ervin tied with Gary Hall Jr. for gold in the 50-meter freestyle in Sydney, defeating Pieter van den Hoogenband. Fast forward to Rio 2016 and Ervin swam his way to his second career gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 21.40, rebounding from a disappointing fifth-placed finish four years ago. The win made Ervin the oldest swimmer in Olympic history to win gold.
The American outraced France’s Florent Manaudou to the wall, defeating him by .01 seconds, as the defending Olympic champion fell just short of going back-to-back in the event. Nathan Adrian of the United States won the bronze to give the Americans a 1-3 finish.
The Field
The Frenchman was the favorite coming into the event as the defending gold medalist and by posting the best time in the semifinals by more than a tenth of a second over the likes of Ervin and Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov. Adrian qualified just one-hundredth of a second behind the second-fastest qualifiers.
Brazil had their own rooting interest in Bruno Fratus. They were hoping their countryman could replicate what Cesar Cielo, the World Record and Olympic Record holder of the event, did in Beijing; Cielo won gold over the likes of Amaury Leveaux and Alain Bernard. Great Britain’s Ben Proud had an outside shot at a medal if he had a good swim and the favorites faded.
Ervin Chases Down Manaudou For Gold
With this race only 50 meters, you knew the race was going to be a fury for a battle for gold and the podium. The key to Ervin’s race was the start as he started off slow in the semifinals and still managed to tie for the second-fastest qualifying time. Tonight, he got off the blocks strong, but it was Manaudou who was looking very good early on.
The Frenchman would not let up with about 15 meters to go, but he was getting pressure from both Americans with Ervin in Lane 3 and Adrian in Lane 6. Just when it looked like Manaudou had it won, Ervin beat him to the wall for gold, winning this discipline 16 years apart.
