NCAA Swimming Flashback: Caeleb Dressel Rewrites Record Books in 2018; Goes Sub-18 and Sub-40 (Video)

Caeleb Dressel at the 2018 NCAA Championships -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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NCAA Swimming Flashback: Caeleb Dressel Rewrites Record Books in 2018

The story of college swimming over the last decade cannot be told without at least one chapter on Caeleb Dressel. Dressel arrived at the University of Florida as one of the most talented and anticipated recruits the sport had ever seen, and he departed after capturing nine individual NCAA titles. Each year, Dressel out-did his own accomplishments on the collegiate stage, and every one of his swims at the end of the season was can’t-miss.

All four years of his NCAA swimming career, Dressel swam the same three events at the national championships, the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 free, even though his range stretched far beyond those events. Hours before the 2017 NCAA Championships kicked off with the 800 free relay, Dressel teased on social media that he was excited to lead off for his Gators, and the swimming world drooled in anticipation of Dressel recording the first-ever sub-1:30 performance.

As it turned out, Dressel was joking, and with his schedule full of individual swims and relays each year, he never got the chance to unleash the epic 200 free performance he was certainly capable of.

But in his senior campaign, immediate after he won a record-tying seven gold medals at the 2017 World Championships, Dressel said that he had “the best year of training I ever had in my life.” Following the meet when he first showed the greatness he was capable of in long course, Dressel took the opportunity to show the world he could do much more than sprint freestyle and butterfly, at least in short course yards.

On the first full day of the SEC Championships, Dressel annihilated the American record in the 200 IM by more than a second. He swam a 1:38.13 to beat David Nolan’s previous mark of 1:39.38, and it was almost two seconds faster than fellow Gator legend Ryan Lochte had ever swum. It was unheard of for the world champion in the 50 freestyle to have posted the fastest time ever in the 200 IM, but that’s exactly what happened on a Wednesday night in College Station, Texas, a race that few present will ever forget.

Two days later, Dressel did it again as he lowered the American record in the 100 breaststroke. Dressel had a chance to become the first man ever under 50 seconds in the event, but he ended up swimming a 50.03 to clip Ian Finnerty’s mark by one hundredth. At that point, Dressel held American records in three of the four 100-yard events, so he was asked if he could possibly join Tracy Caulkins as the only swimmers to ever hold American records in all four strokes. Dressel replied, “I don’t like being on my back. It makes me panic.”

Caeleb Dressel chats with young volunteers behind the blocks at the 2018 NCAA Championships — Photo Courtesy: Dan D’Addona

Fortunately for the IM and breaststroke specialists of the world, Dressel returned to his conventional program for the NCAA Championships, where fans, teammate and even rival swimmers and coaches all quickly realized they were witnessing a special, historic performance. Each time Dressel got on the blocks at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, everyone stood up to watch, many of them pulling out cell phones to ensure they captured video of his next record.

First up was the 50 free, where Dressel was in position to possibly become the first man ever under 18 seconds in the event. Indeed, he pulled that off by breaking his own American record three times in one day with an 18.11 in prelims, a 17.81 relay leadoff and then a 17.63 to win the individual event.

A 17-second 50 freestyle. Whoa. Dressel called that effort a “perfect swim,” and four years later, he remains the quickest man ever in the 50 free by seven tenths.

The next day, Dressel dominated the 100 fly and became the first man under 43 seconds with his 42.80. One year earlier, it had been an upset when Dressel beat 100-meter fly Olympic gold medalist and former training partner Joseph Schooling for the national title in the event, and in that race, the duo became the first two men under 44 seconds, a barrier that took almost a decade to crack. Now, here was Dressel swimming a 42, a freestyle time, as he beat the field by almost two seconds.

On the meet’s final day, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Dressel would become the first man to break 40 seconds in the 100 free after barely missing a 39 one year earlier with his 40.00. In 2018? 39.90, again the fastest time ever, again more than a second ahead of the field.

“They really like to pack the swims in at this meet, so honestly I was just happy to be under 40,” Dressel said after the race. “It was my 13th swim in three days. I just wanted to get up and test my limits mentally and physically. I knew it was going to hurt really bad, and it did. There’s no shortcuts in this sport, so anyone looking for a shortcut might want to change sports.

The entire meet felt like a celebration of Dressel’s remarkable achievements as a collegiate athlete and also a graduation to the professional career he was about to begin. And it was just three years and four months later that Dressel was brilliant at his second Olympics, winning three individual gold medals and two more relay golds as he has maintained his status as the best swimmer in the world since 2017.

For the rest of Dressel’s career, long course will be the primary focus as he points toward further Olympic success, and he will likely continue making appearances in short course meters during the International Swimming League season. But the spring of 2018 was the last time we got to watch him in short course yards, the format most common to American swimming, and boy did he deliver some special efforts.

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