Tolga Akcayli had a qualifying time of 25.65 seconds in the men's 50m freestyle and entered the Olympics with an universality spot. His time was 2.77 seconds slower than the B standard Olympic invitation time. As a requirement to receive an universality place, Akcayli had competed at the 2011 FINA World Championships prior to the Olympic Games. On 2 August at the London Aquatics Centre, Akcayli finished the third heat in fifth place. With a time of 26.27 seconds, Akcayli did not reach the semi-finals as one of the top sixteen quickest heat competitors. After the Olympic freestyle final was completed, Akcayli was 45th out of 58 overall entries.