Paris Olympics: How Cam McEvoy’s experimental preparation ahead of historic gold medal for Australia could revolutionise how athletes train

Aussie Cameron McEvoy is officially an Olympic gold medallist after winning the 50m freestyle – and his radical preparation ahead of the Paris Games could change how other athletes approach their craft.

An astrophysicist away from the pool, the 30-year-old opted to replace endless laps with rock climbing and explosive work in the gym at his base on the Gold Coast.

Gone was the slender physique you typically see with swimmers – McEvoy was transformed to all bulk and power.

The bold move paid off, with the Aussie touching the wall at the in a slick 21.25 seconds at the La Défense Arena ahead of Great Britain’s Ben Proud and local hope Florent Manaudou.

In doing so, McEvoy conquered his demons from the Rio Games eight years ago, where he was the favourite to win the 100m freestyle only to finish seventh in the final.

‘I got the result that you go after, but it’s hard to explain the process after the past two years and the route I took to get here,’ he said post race.

‘Getting the gold medal, that is the tip of the iceberg.

‘That active creation over the past two years to start with not much of an idea, to developing something and seeing where it can go, with me as the guinea pig and seeing where it could take me.

The Aussie touched the wall in a slick 21.25 seconds at the La Défense Arena ahead of Great Britain’s Ben Proud and local hope Florent Manaudou (right)

‘That’s something I will find very hard to replicate in my life and something I will be the most proud of forever.’

Adding to his triumph in the City of Love is the fact that McEvoy took an extended break from the swimming after the Tokyo Olympics three years ago when he became disillusioned with the sport.

‘I was effectively burnt out,’ he told Channel Nine’s Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo.

‘After Tokyo I was set to retire….I had no thoughts of coming back to the sport.  

‘I ventured out in rock climbing, did a lot of gym. Did a lot of other sports, anything that wasn’t swimming. 

‘The more I learnt about what other [sporting disciplines] have to offer, the more I kind of relayed that back to, like, OK how would this look in swimming. Then I got more and more interested in it.’

McEvoy joins Kaylee McKeown (women’s 100m and 200m backstroke), Ariarne Titmus (women’s 400m freestyle), the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team, Mollie O’Callaghan (women’s 200m freestyle), and the women’s 4x200m freestyle team as Aussie pool winners in the French capital.

McEvoy also wouldn’t rule out defending his title in Los Angeles come 2028 – and remarkably, even Brisbane in eight years time isn’t out of the question.

‘A home Games would be absolutely unreal. I’ll be 38 and there have been swimmers who have won world championships at that age,’ he said.

‘Let’s see what [Father] time has for me.’