After nearly missing the final, qualifying 16th in the 16-man field, Nathan Adrian battled back to win his semifinal heat with a blistering time of 47.83 seconds. Australians Cam McEvoy, a physics student who aspires to be an astronaut and 17-year-old Kyle Chalmers finished second and third overall with 47.88 and 47.93 respectively.
Caeleb Dressel, Adrian’s teammate on the gold medal winning 4x100m freestyle relay, advanced to the final with a time of 47.97.
Reigning world champion Ning Zetao of China missed the final.
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