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.

Summary

Australia's Emma McKeon surged in the last 15 m of the race to win gold in an Olympic record time of 23.81, having also bettered the mark in the heats and semi-final. With her sixth medal at these Games, McKeon became the most decorated Australian Olympian at a single Games.

Following elbow surgery in February, Sweden's Sarah Sjöström achieved her first podium finish at these Games with the world-record holder clocking a 24.07 to win silver. The defending Olympic champion Pernille Blume (24.21) won the bronze medal, denying the 2012 Olympic champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo (24.30) a podium finish.

Poland's Katarzyna Wasick and China's Wu Qingfeng came equal fifth in 24.32, while Australia's Cate Campbell (24.36) and the U.S.'s Abbey Weitzeil (24.41) rounded out the championship field.

Records Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

The following records were established during the competition:

Date Event Swimmer Nation Time Record 30 July Heat 10 Emma McKeon 24.02 31 July Semifinal 2 Emma McKeon 24.00 1 August Final Emma McKeon 23.81

Qualification

The Olympic Qualifying Time for the event is 24.77 seconds. Up to two swimmers per National Olympic Committee (NOC) can automatically qualify by swimming that time at an approved qualification event. The Olympic Selection Time is 25.51 seconds. Up to one swimmer per NOC meeting that time is eligible for selection, allocated by world ranking until the maximum quota for all swimming events is reached. NOCs without a female swimmer qualified in any event can also use their universality place.

Competition format

The competition consists of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advance to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advance to the final. Swim-offs are used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.

Schedule All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

DateTimeRound 30 July 19:23 Heats 31 July 11:32 Semifinals 1 August 10:37 Final

Results Heats The swimmers with the top 16 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the semifinals.

Rank Heat Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes 1 10 4 Emma McKeon 24.02 , 2 9 5 Pernille Blume 24.12 3 9 4 Cate Campbell 24.15 4 11 4 Sarah Sjöström 24.26 5 11 3 Katarzyna Wasick 24.31 6 9 6 Zhang Yufei 24.36 7 11 6 Abbey Weitzeil 24.37 8 11 5 Ranomi Kromowidjojo 24.41 9 11 7 Arina Surkova 24.52 10 9 2 Wu Qingfeng 24.55 11 10 5 Simone Manuel 24.65 10 8 Emma Chelius , NR 13 10 2 Mélanie Henique 24.69 14 11 8 Julie Kepp Jensen 24.70 15 11 1 Siobhán Haughey 24.75 , 16 10 6 Femke Heemskerk 24.77 , 17 9 8 Fanny Teijonsalo 24.79 18 9 7 Marie Wattel 24.82 19 10 3 Maria Kameneva 24.83 20 9 3 Michelle Coleman 24.84 21 10 1 Barbora Seemanová 24.92 22 9 1 Kayla Sanchez 24.93 23 8 5 Lidón Muñoz del Campo 25.10 24 8 6 Farida Osman 25.13 25 6 4 Anicka Delgado 25.36 NR 8 4 Julie Meynen 27 7 3 Isabella Arcila 25.41 8 1 Kalia Antoniou 29 10 7 Etiene Medeiros 25.45 30 8 2 Andrea Murez 25.48 31 7 4 Bianca-Andreea Costea 25.61 32 7 2 Jeserik Pinto 25.65 33 8 7 Danielle Hill 25.70 34 6 1 Elinah Phillip 25.74 35 7 5 Amel Melih 25.77 7 7 Karen Torrez 37 8 8 Jenjira Srisa-Ard 25.97 38 7 1 Huang Mei-chien 25.99 39 7 8 Allyson Ponson 26.03 40 8 3 Quah Ting Wen 26.16 41 7 6 Cherelle Thompson 26.19 42 6 7 Nikol Merizaj 26.21 NR 43 6 6 Emily Muteti 26.31 44 5 4 Norah Milanesi 26.41 45 6 3 Talita Baqlah 26.49 6 5 Ema Rajić 47 6 8 Kirabo Namutebi 26.63 48 6 2 Natalya Kritinina 26.93 49 5 5 Mikaili Charlemagne 26.99 50 5 7 Cheyenne Rova 27.11 51 5 1 Batbayaryn Enkhkhüslen 27.29 NR 52 5 6 Tilka Paljk 27.34 53 4 5 Judith Meauri 27.56 54 5 3 Samantha Roberts 27.63 55 4 4 Aleka Persaud 27.76 NR 56 5 8 Bisma Khan 27.78 NR 57 5 2 Unilez Takyi 27.85 58 4 1 Angelika Ouedraogo 28.38 NR 59 4 6 Mya De Freitas 28.57 60 4 7 Noor Yussuf Abdulla 28.87 61 4 8 Jessica Makwenda 28.96 62 3 4 Anastasiya Tyurina 29.05 63 4 3 Noelani Day 29.06 64 3 8 Siri Arun Budcharern 29.22 65 3 5 Bunpichmorakat Kheun 29.42 66 4 2 Alicia Mateus 29.63 67 3 2 Lara Dashti 29.69 68 3 1 Junayna Ahmed 29.78 NR 69 3 6 Nafissath Radji 29.99 70 3 3 Robyn Young 30.41 71 3 7 Dania Nour 30.43 72 2 1 Alphonsine Agahozo 30.50 73 2 2 Osisang Chilton 30.67 74 2 4 Tity Dumbuya 31.56 75 2 6 Chloe Sauvourel 32.18 76 2 3 Roukaya Mahamane 32.21 77 2 7 Aya Mpali 32.24 78 1 4 Imelda Ximenes Belo 32.89 79 1 3 Odrina Kaze 33.39 80 1 5 Haneen Ibrahim 34.49 81 2 8 Bellore Sangala 37.92 2 5 Nada Arkaji 11 2 Anna Hopkin

Semifinals The swimmers with the best 8 times, regardless of heat, advanced to the final.

Rank Heat Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes 1 2 4 Emma McKeon 24.00 , 2 1 4 Pernille Blume 24.08 3 1 5 Sarah Sjöström 24.13 4 2 6 Abbey Weitzeil 24.19 5 2 3 Katarzyna Wasick 24.26 6 2 5 Cate Campbell 24.27 7 1 6 Ranomi Kromowidjojo 24.29 8 1 2 Wu Qingfeng 24.32 1 3 Zhang Yufei , 10 2 2 Arina Surkova 24.57 11 2 1 Mélanie Henique 24.63 2 7 Simone Manuel 13 1 7 Emma Chelius 24.64 NR 14 1 8 Marie Wattel 24.76 15 2 8 Fanny Teijonsalo 24.91 16 1 1 Julie Kepp Jensen 24.98

Final

Rank Lane Swimmer Nation Time Notes 4 Emma McKeon 23.81 3 Sarah Sjöström 24.07 5 Pernille Blume 24.21 4 1 Ranomi Kromowidjojo 24.30 5 2 Katarzyna Wasick 24.32 8 Wu Qingfeng 7 7 Cate Campbell 24.36 8 6 Abbey Weitzeil 24.41

References