{"id":269817,"date":"2017-07-29T12:38:59","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T19:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=269817"},"modified":"2020-11-23T14:10:56","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T21:10:56","slug":"flashback-the-night-caeleb-dressel-became-a-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/flashback-the-night-caeleb-dressel-became-a-superstar\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashback: The Night Caeleb Dressel Became a Superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flashback: The Night Caeleb Dressel Became a Superstar<\/strong><\/p>\n

This piece from the Swimming World archive (specifically the 2017 World Championships in Budapest) looks at the night Caeleb Dressel became a well-known name in the sport, and started down a path toward global success and world-record performances.<\/em><\/p>\n

By David Rieder.<\/em><\/p>\n

Caeleb Dressel<\/strong> was hyped as the next great American sprinter. As for the hype, well, he earned it. But that\u2019s a lot to live up to, and plenty of talented teenagers\u2014in all sports, not just swimming\u2014have been viewed as disappointments because they have not turned out to be all that was promised.<\/p>\n

Six World Championships gold medals later, Dressel sure has not disappointed.<\/p>\n

The moment was in mid-December of 2013, in Greensboro, N.C., at USA Swimming\u2019s Short Course Junior Nationals. Dressel, representing the Bolles School at the time, was leading off a 200-yard free relay at the start of the first night of finals.\u00a0Dressel\u2019s time was 18.94. He had become the first high school-age swimmer to ever break 19 seconds. The packed house at the Greensboro Aquatic Center went nuts.<\/p>\n

The meet was packed with talent and names that would go on to become stars in the future\u2014including future U.S. Olympians Kathleen<\/strong> Baker<\/strong>, Gunnar<\/strong> Bentz<\/strong>, Townley Haas<\/strong> and Jay<\/strong> Litherland<\/strong>\u2014but Dressel stole the show.<\/p>\n

And then, right after that, Dressel stopped swimming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t even thinking about swimming during that time period,\u201d Dressel said. \u201cDuring those six months, I didn\u2019t touch water. I didn\u2019t even think about touching water.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Would that really be it? Would someone that talented really call it quits at age 17?<\/p>\n

No, he wouldn\u2019t. That summer water would call him back, and he honored his commitment to go to the University of Florida and swim for head coach Gregg<\/strong> Troy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here Comes Dressel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Once he came back, Dressel\u2019s progression was rapid and constant. He won his first NCAA championship as a freshman at Florida and his first National championship that summer. In the summer of 2016, he made his first U.S. Olympic team and ended up leading off the U.S. men\u2019s 400 free relay.<\/p>\n

\"michael-phelps-caeleb-dressel-celebrate-400-free-relay-win-2016-rio-olympics\"

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n

The U.S. coaching staff picked Dressel to go first over a man very used to leading off those American relays, Michael<\/strong>\u00a0Phelps<\/strong>. They needed every advantage possible, and it was already abundantly clear that the powerful Dressel had one of the best starts in the world. The decision certainly paid off, as the American men won gold.<\/p>\n

During his junior season at Florida, he swept all three of his individual events at the NCAA championships and smashed the all-time fastest marks in both the 100-yard free and 100-yard fly. Even after U.S. Nationals, when Dressel won three events and finished a close second in the 100 free, there was barely any inkling this was possible.<\/p>\n

Then came his first final of the World Championships, when Dressel led off the American men\u2019s 400 free relay. The U.S. team was in front as soon as Dressel went off the blocks and would never relinquish the lead.<\/p>\n

Dressel ended up pulling away from the field and touching the wall in 47.26\u2014yes, more than six tenths under his lifetime best and faster than David Walters\u2019<\/strong> eight-year-old suit-aided American record of 47.33. The team ended up needing every bit of that effort as Nathan Adrian<\/strong> held off Brazil to win gold.<\/p>\n

Dressel\u2019s one slip-up came on day two, when he ended up fourth in a tight 50 fly final. On day three, he had a day off. Immediately after that, his legend was born.<\/p>\n

He split a then-stunning 49.92 as the butterflyer on the American mixed 400 medley relay. The next day, he dominated the men\u2019s 100 free final, lowering his American record to 47.17 and winning gold by a massive seven tenths of a second.<\/p>\n

Winning his first individual world title in that fashion? Extremely impressive\u2014but apparently nothing compared to what he had up his sleeve for the next two days.<\/p>\n

Dressel had qualified to swim the 50 free, 100 fly and the 800 free relay during the morning session on day six. But Troy decided that that would be a little too much, and the 800 free relay was out.<\/p>\n

“I had to look a day ahead. That would have been three events last night and three events tonight,\u201d Dressel said. \u201cI would have liked to have been on it, but I think it would have been in the best interests of Team USA for me to not swim it.”<\/p>\n

Just two events? Easy, apparently. He qualified second in the 50 free prelims and then returned to the pool and dropped a 50.08 in the 100 fly.<\/p>\n

Yes, that was Dressel\u2019s best time by seven tenths of a second. Yes, it made him the third-fastest performer of all-time and the fastest man ever in a textile suit by three tenths. At that point, it was becoming so normal.<\/p>\n

\"caeleb-dressel-usa-flag-hands-up-towel-2017-world-champs\"

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA<\/p><\/div>\n

That night, he added an American record in the 50 free and took another hundredth off his 100 fly time. All in a day\u2019s work, right?<\/p>\n

Day seven would throw another wrinkle his way\u2014a triple. He would go for individual golds in both the 50 free and 100 fly, about 40 minutes apart, and then he would lead off the mixed 400 free relay.<\/p>\n

No swimmer, man or woman, had ever won three gold medals in one session at a World Championships.<\/p>\n

First came the 50 free. As per usual, Dressel was off the blocks and immediately in front. And once again, he won gold, his time of 21.15 another new American record, again the fastest time ever in a textile suit.<\/p>\n

Forty minutes later, he returned to lane four inside the Danube Arena for the 100 fly final. Two lanes over was a familiar face: Dressel\u2019s high school training partner and Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Rivalry<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Schooling and Dressel have known each other for eight years, since a 13-year-old Schooling moved to Jacksonville to train at Bolles. They had never considered themselves rivals, mostly because Dressel never considered himself a butterflyer.<\/p>\n

\"schooling-butterfly-gold-rio-singapore\"

Photo Courtesy: USA TODAY Sports-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n

Then came the 2017 NCAA championships. Schooling was the Olympic gold medalist, the undisputed favorite in the 100-yard fly. But Dressel used a ridiculous final turn and a final 25 where he did not breathe to get the win.<\/p>\n

They would meet again at Worlds. Schooling was the man hyped up as a potential threat to the world record. Well, at least until Dressel swam his 50.08 in prelims Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Swimming two lanes apart in the final in Budapest, it was never any contest. Yet again, Dressel got ahead off the start and never looked back. He went out in 23.31 at the 50-meter mark, three tenths ahead of anyone else in the field. He came home in 26.55, again faster than anyone else in the field.<\/p>\n

He finished in 49.86. Schooling finished almost a full second back, tying for bronze in 50.83.<\/p>\n

No one had broken 50 since full polyurethane suits were banned eight years ago, and here was Dressel, finishing just four hundredths shy of a world record held by a guy named Phelps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was phenomenal,\u201d Schooling said. \u201cThere were no words to describe how fast that is. He just did 50 free, and he had a bunch of events before. That makes it even more impressive. That\u2019s all, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking\u00a0His Shot at History<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As Dressel jogged off the podium after receiving his 100 fly gold medal, he headed straight to the ready room to join Adrian, Mallory Comerford<\/strong> and Simone Manuel<\/strong> for the mixed 400 free relay. Dressel, unsurprisingly, was penciled into the lead-off position.<\/p>\n

Even after his two finals, he still had something left. He split 47.22, just five hundredths off his time from the individual 100 free, and he handed Adrian a huge lead. The U.S. team would go on to win gold by more than two seconds and smash the world record by more than three.<\/p>\n

History had been made\u2014three gold medals in one night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any accidents in this sport,\u201d Dressel said. \u201cI\u2019ve been scrutinized for the training I do at Florida. I had three swims within an hour and a half of each other tonight, and I had to be on my A-game for all of them. It wasn\u2019t an accident what happened tonight. I work well with Troy, and we were ready for it.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And so, to end the night, Dressel stood on the medal podium again and received his sixth gold medal of the week. Six, one short of seven\u2014and with the 400 medley relay to go.<\/p>\n

\"caeleb-remel-dressel-usa-2017-world-champs\"

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA<\/p><\/div>\n

Only one man has ever won seven gold medals at a World Championships: Phelps. With the American men favored to take down the British and win gold in that relay, matching that accomplishment is well within reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have mixed relays helping me out, so I think it\u2019s a bit different situation,\u201d Dressel correctly pointed out. \u201cI just want to keep doing my own thing. I don\u2019t want to be compared to Michael. I absolutely love Michael\u2014that was my first time being on a team with him in Rio. He\u2019s a great guy, love him to death. He texted me this meet just to say, \u2018Great job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

True, the mixed relays, just added to the World Championships program in 2015, do give Dressel a leg up when it comes to accumulating gold medals. But it\u2019s still massively impressive, and three individual golds is nothing to sneeze at, either. Katie Ledecky<\/strong> is the only other swimmer in Budapest who has won three individual golds. Among men, Sun Yang<\/strong> and Adam Peaty<\/strong> are the only others to win two.<\/p>\n

But for all the gold medals, all the American records and all the world record scares, Dressel has had no time to let it sink in. Perhaps after the medley relay he\u2019ll think about that, but with all the races he has had\u2014so far, 15\u2014there\u2019s been no time to focus on anything but the next task.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s physically challenging and emotionally straining. You can\u2019t get too caught up in one race,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to take one race as time, enjoy the moment and then get re-focused really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his press conference at the end of the night, a reporter asked Dressel if he felt prepared to become the new face of swimming, at least on the men\u2019s side, in this era after Phelps\u2019 retirement. Dressel disagreed with that assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that can be put just on me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But there’s nothing Dressel can do to stop it\u2014after this week, the spotlight will be his. On a night when Ledecky won her fifth gold medal of the World Championships and 14th world title of her career, hers was the side story. Perhaps Matt<\/strong> Grevers<\/strong>, the oldest member of the U.S. team in Budapest and a team captain, put it the best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome seeing the birth of a superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flashback: The Night Caeleb Dressel Became a Superstar This piece from the Swimming World archive (specifically the 2017 World Championships in Budapest) looks at the night Caeleb Dressel became 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