Joseph Schooling was scheduled to compete in the event but did not.
In the 50m butterfly finals, Teong emerged victorious with a time of 23.04 seconds, defending his 2019 win. In the next heat, Teong led the pack with a time of 23.36 seconds, putting him in first position going into the finals, and with Lee in second position. Lee placed first in his heat with a time of 23.80 seconds, a personal best for him.