# Swimming at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 50 metre freestyle

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.
Despite losing lane four to American Nathan Adrian, France's Florent Manaudou threw down a personal and textile best of 21.19 to win his first World Championship in the event, holding off Adrian and Brazilian Bruno Fratus by over three-tenths of a second, an enormous margin in swimming's shortest race. Adrian grabbed the silver in 21.52, following up a new American Record of 21.37 achieved earlier in the semifinals. Fratus took home the bronze, his first World Championship medal ever, in 21.55. Vladimir Morozov, the defending silver medalist from Barcelona, missed the podium in fourth place by a fingertip in 21.56. Ukraine's Andriy Hovorov and Italy's Marco Orsi tied for fifth in 21.86, while Greece's Kristian Golomeev, the defending NCAA 100 freestyle champion, took seventh in 21.98. Great Britain's Benjamin Proud finished eight in 22.04 to round out the championship final.
Plagued by injury, Brazil's defending World Champion César Cielo scratched the event. Other notable swimmers included China's Ning Zetao (22.18) and American Anthony Ervin (22.02), who both missed the championship final.

## Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and championship records were as follows.
| World record | César Cielo (BRA) | 20.91 | São Paulo, Brazil | 18 December 2009 |
| Competition record | César Cielo (BRA) | 21.08 | Rome, Italy | 1 August 2009 |

## Results
### Heats

The heats were held at 09:30.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 12 | 4 | Florent Manaudou | France | 21.71 | Q |
| 2 | 11 | 2 | Nathan Adrian | United States | 21.73 | Q |
| 3 | 12 | 2 | Kristian Golomeev | Greece | 21.87 | Q, NR |
| 4 | 12 | 5 | Vladimir Morozov | Russia | 21.97 | Q |
| 5 | 11 | 5 | Bruno Fratus | Brazil | 22.01 | Q |
| 6 | 10 | 4 | Marco Orsi | Italy | 22.03 | Q |
| 7 | 10 | 5 | Ben Proud | Great Britain | 22.13 | Q |
| 8 | 10 | 3 | Krisztián Takács | Hungary | 22.21 | Q |
| 9 | 11 | 7 | Andriy Hovorov | Ukraine | 22.23 | Q |
| 10 | 12 | 6 | Katsumi Nakamura | Japan | 22.25 | Q |
| 11 | 11 | 3 | Matthew Abood | Australia | 22.28 | Q |
| 12 | 10 | 7 | Shinri Shioura | Japan | 22.34 | Q |
| 13 | 12 | 7 | Andrey Grechin | Russia | 22.38 | Q |
| 14 | 10 | 6 | Ning Zetao | China | 22.43 | Q |
| 15 | 11 | 4 | Anthony Ervin | United States | 22.44 | Q |
| 16 | 12 | 8 | Odysseus Meladinis | Greece | 22.47 | Q |
| 17 | 10 | 1 | François Heersbrandt | Belgium | 22.48 | |
| 17 | 11 | 1 | Luca Dotto | Italy | 22.48 | |
| 19 | 12 | 1 | Clément Mignon | France | 22.50 | |
| 20 | 10 | 2 | Yu Hexin | China | 22.51 | |
| 20 | 10 | 0 | Simonas Bilis | Lithuania | 22.51 | |
| 22 | 11 | 6 | Ari-Pekka Liukkonen | Finland | 22.54 | |
| 23 | 9 | 6 | Christoffer Carlsen | Sweden | 22.61 | |
| 24 | 12 | 9 | Marius Radu | Romania | 22.65 | |
| 25 | 10 | 9 | Miguel Ortiz-Cañavate | Spain | 22.66 | |
| 25 | 11 | 0 | Renzo Tjon A Joe | Suriname | 22.66 | |
| 27 | 9 | 0 | Anton Latkin | Belarus | 22.67 | |
| 27 | 11 | 8 | Jasper Aerents | Belgium | 22.67 | |
| 29 | 9 | 5 | Geoffrey Cheah | Hong Kong | 22.68 | |
| 30 | 9 | 8 | Mario Todorović | Croatia | 22.71 | |
| 31 | 9 | 3 | Boris Stojanović | Serbia | 22.81 | |
| 32 | 11 | 9 | Dylan Carter | Trinidad and Tobago | 22.82 | |
| 33 | 9 | 7 | Ali Khalafalla | Egypt | 22.88 | |
| 33 | 10 | 8 | Karl Krug | Canada | 22.88 | |
| 35 | 8 | 5 | Sidni Hoxha | Albania | 22.93 | |
| 36 | 9 | 1 | Cristian Quintero | Venezuela | 22.94 | |
| 37 | 8 | 2 | Julien Henx | Luxembourg | 22.97 | |
| 38 | 8 | 3 | Virdhawal Khade | India | 23.01 | |
| 39 | 8 | 0 | Elvis Burrows | Bahamas | 23.06 | |
| 40 | 9 | 2 | Demir Atasoy | Turkey | 23.16 | |
| 41 | 8 | 1 | Oliver Elliot | Chile | 23.29 | |
| 41 | 9 | 9 | Luís Flores | Puerto Rico | 23.29 | |
| 43 | 8 | 7 | Jordan Augier | Saint Lucia | 23.30 | |
| 44 | 7 | 2 | Vahan Mkhitaryan | Armenia | 23.36 | |
| 45 | 12 | 0 | Alejandro Escudero | Mexico | 23.38 | |
| 46 | 8 | 8 | Andrew Chetcuti | Malta | 23.43 | |
| 47 | 7 | 6 | Sam Seghers | Papua New Guinea | 23.46 | |
| 48 | 7 | 7 | Allan Gutiérrez | Honduras | 23.47 | |
| 49 | 8 | 6 | Mohammad Madwa | Kuwait | 23.50 | |
| 50 | 7 | 5 | Maksim Inić | Montenegro | 23.54 | |
| 51 | 8 | 4 | Gabriel Melconian Alvez | Uruguay | 23.73 | |
| 52 | 8 | 9 | Meli Malani | Fiji | 23.78 | |
| 53 | 7 | 9 | Jagger Stephens | Guam | 23.84 | |
| 54 | 5 | 5 | Ahmad Attellesey | Libya | 23.89 | |
| 54 | 7 | 8 | Mikel Schreuders | Aruba | 23.89 | |
| 56 | 6 | 4 | Thibaut Danho | Ivory Coast | 23.91 | |
| 57 | 7 | 4 | Stanislav Karnaukhov | Kyrgyzstan | 23.92 | |
| 58 | 6 | 3 | Jhonny Pérez | Dominican Republic | 24.11 | |
| 59 | 6 | 2 | Sidrell Williams | Jamaica | 24.15 | |
| 60 | 6 | 6 | Abdoul Niane | Senegal | 24.18 | |
| 61 | 6 | 0 | José Alberto Quintanilla | Bolivia | 24.19 | |
| 62 | 7 | 0 | Miguel Mena | Nicaragua | 24.25 | |
| 63 | 7 | 3 | Anthony Barbar | Lebanon | 24.31 | |
| 64 | 6 | 7 | Cherantha de Silva | FINA Independent Athletes | 24.32 | |
| 65 | 4 | 6 | Mahfizur Rahman Sagor | Bangladesh | 24.43 | |
| 66 | 6 | 9 | João Aguiar | Angola | 24.44 | |
| 67 | 5 | 2 | Christian Nikles | Brunei | 24.55 | NR |
| 68 | 6 | 5 | Issa Mohamed | Kenya | 24.56 | |
| 69 | 5 | 3 | Denilson da Costa | Mozambique | 24.66 | |
| 70 | 5 | 9 | Abeiku Jackson | Ghana | 24.72 | |
| 71 | 4 | 3 | Noah Mascoll-Gomes | Antigua and Barbuda | 24.79 | |
| 72 | 5 | 0 | Hilal Hemed Hilal | Tanzania | 24.86 | |
| 73 | 5 | 7 | Alex Sobers | Barbados | 24.87 | |
| 74 | 5 | 1 | Lum Zhaveli | Kosovo | 24.91 | |
| 75 | 5 | 4 | Farhan Saleh | Bahrain | 24.98 | |
| 76 | 6 | 1 | Samson Opuakpo | Nigeria | 25.02 | |
| 77 | 4 | 4 | Valentin Gorshkov | Turkmenistan | 25.07 | |
| 78 | 4 | 5 | Kerry Ollivierre | Grenada | 25.37 | |
| 79 | 5 | 8 | Batsaikhany Dulguun | Mongolia | 25.42 | |
| 80 | 4 | 2 | Joshua Tibatemwa | Uganda | 25.54 | NR |
| 81 | 5 | 6 | Mohammad Abdo | Palestine | 25.84 | |
| 82 | 3 | 3 | Andrew Fowler | Guyana | 26.03 | |
| 83 | 4 | 7 | Giordan Harris | Marshall Islands | 26.18 | |
| 84 | 4 | 8 | Muhammad Saad | Pakistan | 26.19 | |
| 85 | 1 | 5 | Mamadou Soumaré | Mali | 26.41 | |
| 86 | 3 | 2 | Billy-Scott Irakose | Burundi | 26.50 | |
| 87 | 3 | 5 | Olim Qurbonov | Tajikistan | 26.64 | |
| 88 | 3 | 8 | Shane Cadogan | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 26.70 | |
| 89 | 3 | 4 | Ibrahim Nishwan | Maldives | 26.76 | |
| 90 | 3 | 6 | Dionisio Augustine | Federated States of Micronesia | 26.92 | |
| 91 | 1 | 3 | Amadou Camara | Guinea | 26.99 | |
| 92 | 2 | 4 | Shawn Wallace | Palau | 27.02 | |
| 93 | 3 | 7 | Mohamed Adnan | Maldives | 27.17 | |
| 94 | 1 | 4 | Pap Jonga | The Gambia | 27.24 | |
| 94 | 3 | 9 | Jules Bessan | Benin | 27.24 | |
| 96 | 2 | 5 | Takumi Sugie | Northern Mariana Islands | 27.26 | |
| 97 | 6 | 8 | Athoumane Soilihi | Comoros | 27.34 | |
| 98 | 2 | 7 | Santisouk Inthavong | Laos | 27.42 | |
| 99 | 4 | 1 | Sirish Gurung | Nepal | 27.45 | |
| 100 | 1 | 2 | Ebrahim Al-Maleki | Yemen | 27.55 | |
| 101 | 2 | 3 | Albachir Mouctar | Niger | 27.57 | |
| 102 | 3 | 0 | Hemthon Ponloeu | Cambodia | 27.63 | |
| 103 | 2 | 0 | Osman Kamara | Sierra Leone | 27.70 | |
| 104 | 2 | 2 | Patrick Rukundo | Rwanda | 27.75 | |
| 105 | 2 | 1 | Abdelaziz Ahmed | Sudan | 27.88 | |
| 106 | 2 | 8 | Eméric Kpegba | Togo | 28.29 | |
| 107 | 3 | 1 | Tindwende Sawadogo | Burkina Faso | 28.39 | |
| 108 | 1 | 9 | Dienov Andres Koka | Congo | 28.53 | |
| 109 | 2 | 6 | Brave Lifa | Malawi | 29.07 | |
| 110 | 2 | 9 | Mael Ambonguilat | Gabon | 29.25 | |
| 111 | 1 | 0 | Ahmed Alwan | Djibouti | 30.77 | |
| 112 | 1 | 7 | Frantz Dorsainvil | Haiti | 31.93 | |
| 113 | 1 | 8 | Mokhoro Makara | Lesotho | 55.80 | |
| | 1 | 1 | Shad Perriere | Central African Republic | | DNS |
| | 1 | 6 | Charly Ndjoume | Cameroon | | DNS |
| | 7 | 1 | Lorenzo Loria | Mexico | | DNS |
| | 9 | 4 | Pjotr Degtjarjov | Estonia | | DNS |
| | 12 | 3 | César Cielo | Brazil | | DNS |
| | 4 | 0 | Abdelmalik Muktar | Ethiopia | | DSQ |
| | 4 | 9 | Temaruata Strickland | Cook Islands | | DSQ |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were held at 18.09.

#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Nathan Adrian | United States | 21.37 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 3 | Marco Orsi | Italy | 21.86 | Q |
| 3 | 5 | Vladimir Morozov | Russia | 22.02 | QSO |
| 4 | 6 | Krisztián Takács | Hungary | 22.07 | |
| 5 | 7 | Shinri Shioura | Japan | 22.08 | |
| 6 | 8 | Odysseus Meladinis | Greece | 22.14 | |
| 7 | 2 | Katsumi Nakamura | Japan | 22.15 | |
| 8 | 1 | Ning Zetao | China | 22.28 | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Florent Manaudou | France | 21.41 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Bruno Fratus | Brazil | 21.60 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Benjamin Proud | Great Britain | 21.88 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Kristian Golomeev | Greece | 21.89 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Andriy Hovorov | Ukraine | 21.93 | Q |
| 6 | 8 | Anthony Ervin | United States | 22.02 | QSO |
| 7 | 7 | Matthew Abood | Australia | 22.16 | |
| 8 | 1 | Andrey Grechin | Russia | 22.66 | |

#### Swim-off

The swim-off was held at 19:38.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Vladimir Morozov | Russia | 21.90 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Anthony Ervin | United States | 21.98 | |

### Final

The final was held on 8 August at 17:39.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
| | 5 | Florent Manaudou | France | 21.19 |
| | 4 | Nathan Adrian | United States | 21.52 |
| | 3 | Bruno Fratus | Brazil | 21.55 |
| 4 | 8 | Vladimir Morozov | Russia | 21.56 |
| 5 | 1 | Andriy Hovorov | Ukraine | 21.86 |
| 5 | 6 | Marco Orsi | Italy | 21.86 |
| 7 | 7 | Kristian Golomeev | Greece | 21.98 |
| 8 | 2 | Benjamin Proud | Great Britain | 22.04 |