# Swimming at the 2002 Commonwealth Games – Men's EAD 50 metre freestyle

The Men's EAD 50 metre freestyle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games was held on 1 August at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

## Classification

The events were run on a multi-disability format, which included both physically disabled and visually impaired swimmers i.e. the International Paralympic Committee’s Swimming Classification S1 – S13.
* Classes S1 – S10 are allocated to swimmers with a physical disability ranging from swimmers with a severe disability (S1) to those with a minimal disability (S10).
* Classes S11 – S13 are allocated to swimmers with a visual impairment ranging from swimmers with no vision or may have light perception (S11) to those with some visual acuity (S13).

## Format

All classes, 1 through 13 swan together in 3 heats and a final event. Positions were determined by each athlete’s time relative to the current world record for the appropriate classification of the swimmer. This may have meant that the swimmer touching first may not have been the winner.
World records were time standardised to identify both the finalists and medal winners throughout the competition. This meant that the same ‘time marker’ was used in the heats and the final irrespective of whether the world record had been broken during the course of competition.

## Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world records were as follows;
| Class | Name | Time | Location | Date |
| S1 | Itzhak Mamistalov (ISR) | 1:11.30 | Stockholm, Sweden | 31 July 2001 |
| S2 | Curtis Lovejoy (USA) | 1:10.11 | Sydney, Australia | 27 October 2000 |
| S3 | Jamie Eurlert (PER) | 49.03 | Sydney, Australia | 27 October 2000 |
| S4 | Richard Orive (ESP) | 38.84 | Sydney, Australia | 27 October 2000 |
| S5 | Sebastian Rodriguez Veloso (ESP) | 33.33 | Spain | 26 July 2002 |
| S6 | Peter Lund Andersen (DEN) | 31.26 | Atlanta, United States | 25 August 1996 |
| S7 | David Roberts (WAL) | 28.58 | Sydney, Australia | 28 October 2000 |
| S8 | | 27.93 | | |
| S9 | Xiaoming Xiong (CHN) | 26.36 | Sydney, Australia | 28 October 2000 |
| S10 | Benoit Huot (CAN) | 25.04 | Winnipeg, Canada | 24 March 2002 |
| S11 | John Morgan (USA) | 25.96 | New York, United States | 1 January 1987 |
| S12 | Ebert Phillipus Kleynhans (RSA) | 25.79 | Sydney, Australia | 28 October 2000 |
| S13 | Andrey Strokin (RUS) | 24.67 | Sydney, Australia | 28 October 2000 |
The following records were established during the competition:
| Date | Event | Class | Name | Nationality | Time | Result | Record |
| 1 August | Heats | S5 | Chee Kin Wong | Malaysia | 47.34 | +13.20 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S6 | Yusup Dewa | Malaysia | 37.31 | +6.05 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S6 | Andreas Potamitis | Cyprus | 35.74 | +4.48 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S7 | Alex Harris | Australia | 29.50 | +0.92 | GR |
| 1 August | Final | S7 | David Roberts | Wales | 28.71 | +0.13 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S8 | Ben Austin | Australia | 27.48 | −0.45 | WR |
| 1 August | Heats | S9 | Aidan McGlynn | Northern Ireland | 28.88 | +2.52 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S10 | Philippe Gagnon | Canada | 25.41 | +0.37 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S10 | Benoit Huot | Canada | 25.23 | +0.19 | GR |
| 1 August | Final | S10 | Philippe Gagnon | Canada | 25.04 | 0.00 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S11 | Ou Dona | Papua New Guinea | 40.74 | +14.78 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S12 | Darren Leach | England | 26.10 | +0.31 | GR |
| 1 August | Final | S12 | Darren Leach | England | 25.91 | +0.12 | GR |
| 1 August | Heats | S13 | Scott Field | South Africa | 26.09 | +1.42 | GR |

## Results
### Heats

The 8 fastest swimmers in the heats qualified for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Class | Nationality | Time | Result | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Ben Austin | S8 | Australia | 27.48 | −0.45 | Q, WR, GR |
| 2 | 2 | 6 | David Roberts | S7 | Wales | 28.75 | +0.17 | Q, GR |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | Benoit Huot | S10 | Canada | 25.23 | +0.19 | Q, GR |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | Darren Leach | S12 | England | 26.10 | +0.31 | Q, GR |
| 5 | 2 | 4 | Philippe Gagnon | S10 | Canada | 25.41 | +0.37 | Q, GR |
| 6 | 2 | 5 | Ebert Phillipus Kleynhans | S12 | South Africa | 26.35 | +0.56 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | 6 | Alex Harris | S7 | Australia | 29.50 | +0.92 | Q, GR |
| 7 | 3 | 6 | Matt Walker | S7 | England | 29.50 | +0.92 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | 3 | Ian Sharpe | S12 | Isle of Man | 27.21 | +1.42 | |
| 9 | 3 | 5 | Scott Field | S13 | South Africa | 26.09 | +1.42 | GR |
| 11 | 1 | 3 | Aidan McGlynn | S9 | Northern Ireland | 28.88 | +2.52 | GR |
| 12 | 2 | 2 | Andrew Lindsay | S7 | Scotland | 31.52 | +2.94 | |
| 13 | 1 | 5 | Paul Noble | S10 | Scotland | 28.03 | +2.99 | GR |
| 14 | 3 | 2 | Nick Gibbon | S10 | Wales | 29.34 | +4.30 | |
| 15 | 3 | 7 | Andreas Potamitis | S6 | Cyprus | 35.74 | +4.48 | GR |
| 16 | 2 | 7 | Meng Ee Wong | S12 | Singapore | 31.27 | +5.48 | |
| 17 | 1 | 7 | Yusup Dewa | S6 | Malaysia | 37.31 | +6.05 | GR |
| 18 | 1 | 2 | Abdulgani Ashur Abeid | S10 | Kenya | 36.11 | +11.07 | |
| 19 | 1 | 1 | Chee Kin Wong | S5 | Malaysia | 47.34 | +13.20 | GR |
| 20 | 2 | 1 | Ioannis Mavrou | S6 | Cyprus | 44.90 | +13.64 | |
| 21 | 3 | 1 | Ou Dona | S11 | Papua New Guinea | 40.74 | +14.78 | GR |

### Final

The final was held on 1 August at 19:37.
| Rank | Lane | Name | Class | Nation | Time | Result | Notes |
| | 4 | Ben Austin | S8 | Australia | 27.59 | −0.34 | |
| | 2 | Philippe Gagnon | S10 | Canada | 25.04 | 0.00 | GR |
| | 3 | Benoit Huot | S10 | Canada | 25.07 | +0.03 | GR |
| 4 | 6 | Darren Leach | S12 | England | 25.91 | +0.12 | GR |
| 5 | 5 | David Roberts | S7 | Wales | 28.71 | +0.13 | GR |
| 6 | 1 | Alex Harris | S7 | Australia | 29.00 | +0.42 | |
| 7 | 7 | Ebert Phillipus Kleynhans | S12 | South Africa | 26.55 | +0.76 | |
| 8 | 8 | Matt Walker | S7 | England | 29.55 | +0.97 | |