SWIMMING: Australia's McEvoy sees room to improve after setting 50m freestyle world record

Cameron McEvoy says his best is yet to come after breaking Cesar Cielo's long-standing men's 50 metres freestyle world record, and he plans to keep competing until the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The 31-year-old Australian clocked 20.88 seconds at the China Swimming Open in Shenzhen last week, surpassing Cielo’s 20.91 set in 2009 during the era of now-banned "supersuits."

Olympic and world champion McEvoy said the 50m freestyle is a strength-based event, and he believes his power can continue to improve in his 30s.

"I think I've got a little bit of time left... Hopefully the result in China proves that people in their 30s can definitely sprint and continue to sprint. I've still got my eyes on L.A.," McEvoy told reporters in Brisbane.

"I definitely have my eyes on the home Games here in Brisbane. I'll just keep at it every year and take it one step at a time. I definitely think I can get faster. Whether that happens on an execution point of view, I can't be so certain. But on paper, there's definitely room to improve. Even in training, I'm constantly refining and developing."

McEvoy did not receive a financial reward for setting the record, as World Aquatics only awards bonuses for records set at competitions they organize.

By contrast, the Enhanced Games, which allow athletes to use pharmacological or technological assistance, reportedly paid Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev $1 million last year for beating Cielo’s time—then the official 50m world record. Gkolomeev reportedly swam 20.89 seconds wearing an inline full-body open water suit outside World Aquatics standards.

Commenting on the payout, McEvoy said: "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 zero dollars. You get not only a $1 million bonus, but also $250,000 prize money for first place on top of the world record… And the zero-dollar pathway is the much harder pathway to do something like this. So it's pretty ludicrous… I'm dumbfounded by the stark contrast that exists currently in the landscape of sport and swimming."

-Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman/Reuters