Florent Manaudou is the world’s fastest man in the pool after winning the 50m freestyle final at the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday. The Frenchman surprised when he was the first to touch the wall, doing so in 21.34 seconds as he used a huge push in the final 15 meters to overtake American Cullen Jones, who won silver, finishing just 0.20 seconds behind Manaudou.
Florent Manaudou Wins Men’s 50m Free, American Cullen Jones Grabs Silver
In swimming’s fastest event, France’s Florent Manaudou won gold in the men’s 50m free. American Cullen Jones picked up the silver.
Brazil’s Cesar Cielo, the defending gold medalist, finished third (21.59).
As usual, the finish of the 50m free was tightly contested -- the difference between Manaudou and Eamon Sullivan, who came in last place, was just 0.64 seconds.
American Anthony Ervin, swimming 12 years after he won a gold in the event, was fifth, with a time of 21.78 -- amazingly, that was 0.20 seconds faster than what he swam in Sydney.
For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation’s London 2012 Olympics Hub.
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