(VIDEO) Caeleb Dressel Smokes 50 Yard Free NCAA, American Record During SEC Prelims

caeleb-dressell-gregg-troy-50-freestyle- communication

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Florida’s Caeleb Dressel just demolished the NCAA and American record in the men’s 50-yard free during prelims at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Championships.

Dressel, who blasted his way to a sizzling 23.43 breaststroke split for Florida en route to the Gators winning the SEC title in the 200-yard medley relay with a 1:23.69 last night, pounced on the 50-yard free this morning with a stunning 18.39.

That swim completely wiped out Nathan Adrian’s American record of 18.66 set back in 2011 in Minneapolis, while also undercutting Cesar Cielo’s 2008 NCAA mark of 18.47 set in Federal Way. Incidentally, he also thumped the previous pool record of 19.24 set by Jimmy Feigen with Texas back in 2009.

And, thanks to Gator Swimming and Dressel’s speed, this is a Twitterable race video!

Here it is, Gator Nation. Caeleb’s 18.39 50-Yard freestyle! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/V5fusP28Mn

— Gator Swimming (@GatorsSwimDv) February 17, 2016

Dressel’s previous best time had been an 18.67 at the 2015 NCAA Men’s Championships. He’s now cleared 19 seconds a total of nine times since first breaking the barrier as a precocious junior swimmer with an 18.94 relay leadoff at the 2013 Speedo Winter Junior Nationals.

The big question is whether Dressel can find another gear this evening during finals and drop his newly-minted mark even further. Could he flirt with an unfathomable 17. swim?

Another major question is whether head coach Gregg Troy follows through on his pre-season promise to shave his mustache if Dressel posted an 18.39.

During a pre-season Q&A held by Florida Athletics, Dressel started the following exchange:

“Caeleb Dressel: What time would you take in a 50 free for you to shave your mustache?

GT: Short course 18.39 / Long course 20.89.”

Florida Athletics is on record stating that should the shave actually happen, it will make sure it gets plenty of coverage.

 Event 12  Men 50 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
      US Open: O 18.47  3/27/2008 Cesar Cielo, Auburn
         NCAA: N 18.47  3/27/2008 Cesar Cielo, Auburn
     American: M 18.66  3/24/2011 Nathan Adrian, California
     SEC Meet: S 18.52  2/19/2009 Matt Targett, Auburn
         Pool: P 19.24  2009      Jimmy Feigan, Texas
                 19.18  A
                 20.19  B
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Dressel, Caeleb  SO FLOR-FL             18.77      18.39OqA     
         r:+0.66                       
  2 Gkolomeev, Kris  JR Alabama-SE          19.28      19.21PqB     
         r:+0.71                       
  3 Holoda, Peter    SO AUB-SE              19.71      19.30 qB     
         r:+0.68                       
  4 Chadwick, Micha  JR Mizzou-MV           19.17      19.37 qB     
         r:+0.66                       
  5 Darmody, Kyle J  JR AUB-SE              19.84      19.44 qB     
         r:+0.65                       
  6 Main, Corey C    SR FLOR-FL             19.73      19.60 qB     
         r:+0.62                       
  7 Walsh, Brett H   SR Alabama-SE          20.31      19.61 qB     
         r:+8.93                       
  8 Decoursey, Kyle  FR Tennessee-SE        20.01      19.65 qB     
         r:+0.68

 Event 3  Men 200 Yard Medley Relay

  1 FLOR-FL                       1:24.54    1:23.69SA       64  
     1) Blyzinskyj, Jack A JR         2) r:0.26 Dressel, Caeleb SO    
     3) r:0.26 Switkowski, Jan SO     4) r:0.25 Main, Corey SR        
    r:15.31  20.93        44.36 (23.43)
        1:04.69 (20.33)     1:23.69 (19.00)

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