Cameron McEvoy highlights ‘ludicrous’ problem with new swimming world record after resisting Enhanced Games
Australian swimmer McEvoy broke the longstanding 50m freestyle record last Friday but has received no financial reward
Cameron McEvoy lamented the “ludicrous” situation that saw him go financially unrewarded for breaking the 50m freestyle world record, whereas a doped athlete can earn millions for doing so at the upcoming Enhanced Games . Australian swimmer McEvoy admitted it was “the realisation of a childhood dream” to break Cesar Cielo’s world record that had stood for more than 16 years, which he did by clocking 20. 88s at the China Open in Shenzhen on Friday.
That time shaved 0. 03s off the Brazilian’s mark, which he laid down during swimming ’s controversial ‘super suit’ era back in 2009, when high-tech swim suits made of water-resistant polyurethane helped competitors go much faster but were later banned as over 200 records fell in less than two years. Cameron McEvoy clocked 20.
88s to break the 50m freestyle world record (Getty Images) Cielo’s time was the final remaining world record from that era and while the China Open is an official event, meaning McEvoy’s new world record is completely legitimate, it is not organised by World Aquatics, so there is no world record bonus attached to it, whereas the global governing body does pay out for records broken in competitions it runs. If McEvoy had broken the record during a World Cup meet for example, he would have earned $10,000, while Leon Marchand claimed $30,000 as the sole swimmer to break a world record during last year’s World Championships in Singapore. Even more jarringly, the first Enhanced Games – a controversial new competition where doping is legal and the ‘super suits’ aren’t banned – is set to take place in Las Vegas in May this year, with huge bonuses on offer for any world records broken, even though they won’t official count in the history books due to the lack of anti-doping measures.
McEvoy was delighted to fulfil a childhood dream by breaking the world record (Getty Images) He was congratulated by his competitors in Shenzhen (Getty Images) “This competition at the China Open had no world record incentive,” explained a frustrated McEvoy. “So with this world record, I got $0 for it. “It’s crazy to think that to get a world record without a suit and without any performance-enhancing drugs, as a clean athlete, the bonus is $0, whereas if I went an easier route, you get not only a $1m bonus but there’s also $250,000 prize money for first place, which you would get on top of the world record.
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