The semifinal heats of the men’s 50 meter freestyle were completed Thursday night, with two Americans among the eight who qualified for Friday’s final.
Anthony Ervin finished tied for first with Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov in the second heat, with Nathan Adrian finishing second in the first semifinal heat. Ervin’s time of 21.46 seconds was one one-hundredth of a second faster than the time produced by Adrian, with France’s Florent Manaudou posting a heat-best time of 21.32 seconds.
Manaudou is the reigning Olympic champion in this event, and he’ll be the favorite heading into Friday’s final.
