Anthony Lee Ervin is an American competition swimmer who has won four Olympic medals and two World Championship golds. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 50-meter freestyle, and earned a silver medal as a member of the second-place United States relay team in the 4×100-meter freestyle event. He was the second swimmer of African descent after Anthony Nesty of Suriname to win an individual gold medal in Olympic swimming. He is the first United States citizen of African descent to medal gold in an individual Olympic swimming event. In 2017 he knelt for the National Anthem prior to the start of a competition in Brazil.
César Augusto Cielo Filho is a Brazilian competitive swimmer who specializes in sprint events. He is the most successful Brazilian swimmer in history, having obtained three Olympic medals, winning six individual World Championship gold medals and breaking two world records.
Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event.
The men's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 14–16 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China.
Nicholas Araújo Dias dos Santos is a Brazilian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle and butterfly sprint events. He swims for Esporte Clube Pinheiros. He swam the 50-metre freestyle at the 2008 Summer Olympics and was a member of the Brazilian 4×100-meter freestyle team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. At the 50-metre butterfly, he is the World Record holder in Short Course, and he was the Americas Record Holder in Long Course.
The men's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 2–3 August at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on 31 July and 1 August at the London Aquatics Centre in London, United Kingdom. There were 56 competitors from 49 nations. The event was won by Nathan Adrian of the United States.
Vladimir Viktorovich Morozov is a Russian competitive swimmer and Olympic medalist. He is the former world record holder in the short course 100-metre individual medley, the current textile world record, World Cup record and Russian national record holder in the 100-metre individual medley and 100-metre freestyle, and Russian record holder in the 50-metre freestyle. He also holds the European record for the 100-metre individual medley. Formerly he held the Russian national record in the 50-metre backstroke and the 50-metre butterfly, and held the European and Russian records in the 50-metre breaststroke.
Florent Manaudou is a French competitive swimmer, an Olympic champion of the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, and the younger brother of Laure Manaudou, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist in swimming. He currently holds the world record in the 50-meter backstroke. He competes for the Energy Standard Swim Club in the International Swimming League.
Bruno Giuseppe Fratus is a Brazilian competitive swimmer. He won a bronze medal in the 50-metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In July 2021, Fratus became the first swimmer in history to swim the long course 50 metre freestyle race in less than 22 seconds 90 times. He surpassed this mark by swimming his 100th sub-22 second 50 metre freestyle at the 19th World Aquatics Championships in June 2022.
Kristian Tsvetanov Gkolomeev is a Greek swimmer. He specializes in sprint freestyle and butterfly events.
Marcelo Chierighini is a Brazilian competitive swimmer. In the 100 metre freestyle, he was an Olympic finalist at the Rio 2016 Games, and four times in a row a finalist at the World Championships in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. In the 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay, he holds a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships.
João Bevilaqua de Lucca is a Brazilian swimmer.
Benjamin Proud is an English competitive swimmer, representing Great Britain at the Olympic Games, the FINA World Aquatics Championships and LEN European Aquatics Championships, and England at the Commonwealth Games. Proud specialises in sprint freestyle and butterfly races, specifically the 50-metre distance in both. He is the 2022 World Champion in the 50 metre freestyle, his second long course world title. He is the 2017 world champion in the 50-metre butterfly. He is only the third male swimmer to be simultaneously short-course and long-course World Champion at 50 metre freestyle, after César Cielo and Florent Manaudou.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 9–10 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
The men's 50 metre freestyle competition of the swimming events at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships was held on 7 August with the heats and the semifinals and 8 August with the final.
Ryan Held is an American freestyle swimmer who specializes in the sprint events, and is currently sponsored by Arena. He holds the U.S. Open record in the long course 100 meter freestyle and three world records in short course relay events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay, swimming in both the prelims and the final of the event. In 2021, he won silver medals in the 50 meter freestyle and the 100 meter freestyle at the 2021 World Short Course Championships. At his first FINA World Aquatics Championships, the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay.
The men's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 30 July to 1 August 2021 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. It will be the event's tenth appearance, first held in 1904 and then at every edition since 1988. The event is nicknamed the "splash and dash" event.
The women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 30 July to 1 August 2021 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. It was the event's ninth consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1988.
The women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 28 to 30 July 2021 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. It was the event's twenty-fifth consecutive appearance, having been held at every edition since 1912.
