A.E.O.S.S.S. 50FR

For some who like bright lights and shiny things the 50FR is the marquee event in swimming. The 100 yard dash. The Heavyweight Championship. One lap. No turn. Straight to the finish. Who is the fastest man and woman in the world.

Last Thursday I took at a look at the women's 50FR... today... the men.

ALL HAIL CESAR!: MEN'S 50 FREESTYLE

The logical favourite:  Cesar Cielo (BRA)
Cielo is the world record holder (20.91), defending Olympic gold medalist (21.30), defending World Champion (21.52), and the World Championship result was fast enough in 2011 to be the fast result in the world.  Cielo is a beast and the fastest man on the planet in the 50FR.

With an event so short and where a slight mis-step can open the window for a number of sprinters to crash through and unseat Cielo.  In 2011 there were 8 men who swam under 22 seconds in 2011...

21.76 - Bruno Fratus (BRA)
21.78 - Fred Bosquet (FRA)
21.84 - Nathan Adrian (USA)
21.90 - Luca Dotta (ITA)
21.92 - Alain Bernard (FRA)
21.97 - Krisztian Takacs (HUN)
21.98 - Sergey Fesikov (RUS)

Bosquet and Bernard have held the world record in the 50FR at points in time and could be formidable.  Throw into the mix Aussie Matt Targett who swam 21.98 a week ago and a number of fantastic sprinters capable of breaking through and firstly capturing a spot on their respective Olympic teams and then getting their hand on the wall faster then anyone else.  Considering the FINA 'A' cut is 22.11, there is going to be some dynamic sprinting in London.

Watch out for.. Stefan Nystrand (SWE), George Bovell (TRI), Gideon Louw (RSA), Matt Abood (AUS), James Magnusson (AUS)... and whomever comes out of the US Trials because although Adrian has been the most consistent American sprinter in the last four years it's tough to discount the chances of guys like Jason Lezak, Cullen Jones, Josh Schneider, Garrett Weber-Gale or a guy like Jimmy Feigen making the big leap to international stardom.

Canadian Content:  Brent Hayden is already on the Canadian Olympic team in the 100FR, he's the fastest Canadian sprinter right now but his best 50FR last year was 22.34 so he's sort of on the outside looking in.  Should Hayden stumble at the Canadian Trials, Richard Hortness represented Canada in 2008 while younger faces like Kyle Troskot and Luke Peddie could make a breakthrough and get on the team but all of their best times make them non-factors come London.

For those who love the long shots:  Anthony Ervin (USA)... he's back!  The former 50FR world record holder (SCM) and co-gold medalist in the 50FR at the 2000 Olympic Games is back in the pool and swimming very well.  Ervin is pure sprint talent who is training with Nathan Adrian out in California and he's quite capable of upsetting the party.

Parting shot...  I feel this is one of the stone cold locks of the 2012 Olympics.  Cielo just knows how to get the job done.  In addition to his dominance is the specter of doubt as to whether he's using PEDs.  The anger, resentment, and distraction surrounds Cielo and that just makes him even more difficult to beat.

... next up... the 400IM...