Three-time Olympic medallist Cameron McEvoy is all set to become Australia’s first male swimmer to compete in four Olympics.
Having appeared at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, McEvoy is also in the Australian swimming squad for Paris 2024.
Cameron McEvoy was born on May 13, 1994, in Gold Coast. His grandfather, Barney McEvoy, played Rugby League for New South Wales. In his formative years, McEvoy was inspired by Australian swimming greats Grant Hackett and Ian Thorpe.
McEvoy came to the fore in his junior career, breaking Ian Thorpe’s records in the under-16 and 17 age categories. He also bagged three medals at the 2011 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships - gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle events and a bronze in the 200m freestyle.
A young prodigy, McEvoy secured his maiden Olympic berth at the age 17. He helped the Australian team to fourth in the 400m freestyle relay and fifth in the 800m freestyle relay events at London 2012.
Four years later, Cameron McEvoy won bronze medals in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley events in Rio 2016. His split (47.00s) was the second-fastest in the 4x100m freestyle event, helping the Australian team secure third place.
Meanwhile, he also made history at the Australian National Championships in 2016, becoming the first male swimmer to claim the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle national titles in the same year.
McEvoy also boasts eight medals at the Commonwealth Games - three gold medals, four silvers and one bronze.
He featured in the 4x100m freestyle relay teams that bagged gold in the 2014 and 2018 editions while also swimming in the 4x200m freestyle relay winning team in 2014. He bagged three individual silver medals at Glasgow 2014. Meanwhile, in front of his home fans at Gold Coast 2018, McEvoy won the bronze medal in 50m freestyle.
At Tokyo 2020, he secured another bronze medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay, his third Olympic medal.
Cameron McEvoy took a break from the pool after Tokyo to adopt new training techniques, He consequently missed the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Aptly nicknamed ‘The Professor’, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at Griffith University.
The Australian swimmer employed a scientific approach to revamping his skills before his return to the pool. McEvoy embraced a new philosophy - train less, hit high intensity, sustain it and build again - inspired by track and cycling sprinters.
The results showed as McEvoy became the oldest Australian to become a world champion at 29, bagging the gold medal at the 50m freestyle at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. He also broke the Commonwealth record with a time of 21.06s.
Cameron McEvoy also holds the Commonwealth record (47.04s) in the 100m freestyle event.
Though he failed to defend his title in 2024, McEvoy claimed a 50m freestyle silver and a 50m butterfly bronze at Doha, taking his World Championships medal tally to nine.
He also won the 50m freestyle title at the Australian Championships in April 2024. Later, McEvoy secured his Paris 2024 berth with a win in the 50m freestyle at the Australian Olympic swimming trials in June.