The 50 fly is not an event contested at the Olympics. Cesar Cielo, the world-record holder in the 50 free and 100 free, defended his world title, as expected. But the surprise story was Eugene Godsoe, 25, who won silver in his first major international meet after being the last man to qualify into the final.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” Godsoe told Universal Sports. “I knew for the 50 fly, if you have a lane, you have a shot.”
Results
Gold: Cesar Cielo (BRA) 23.01
Silver: Eugene Godsoe (USA) 23.05
Bronze: Frederick Bousquet (FRA) 23.11
4. Nicholas Santos (BRA) 23.21
5. Andriy Hovorov (UKR) 23.22
6. Yauhen Tsurkin (BLR) 23.28
6. Steffen Diebler (GER) 23.28
8. Florent Manaudou (FRA) 23.35
