{"id":649296,"date":"2026-08-01T19:04:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T02:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=649296"},"modified":"2026-08-01T19:46:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T02:46:49","slug":"u-s-nationals-day-five-mens-finals-caeleb-dressel-rips-21-35-in-50-freestyle-to-cap-sterling-meet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/u-s-nationals-day-five-mens-finals-caeleb-dressel-rips-21-35-in-50-freestyle-to-cap-sterling-meet\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Nationals, Day Five Men’s Finals: Caeleb Dressel Rips 21.35 in 50 Freestyle to Cap Sterling Meet"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Nationals, Day Five Men’s Finals: Caeleb Dressel Rips 21.35 in 50 Freestyle to Cap Sterling Meet<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wasn’t hard to pinpoint the top performance of prelims during the fifth day of the United States National Championships. When Caeleb Dressel fired off a 21.45 performance in the 50-meter freestyle, the 10-time Olympic medalist elicited memories of his days as the premier sprinter in the world. Does Dressel have some more speed in his 29-year-old body? The answer to that question will come in the final event of the meet.<\/p>\n

The fastest heat of the 800 freestyle will bring together Luka Mijatovic and Ryan Erisman, who delivered a spectacular duel in the 400 freestyle on Friday night. Mijatovic prevailed in that clash, as his time of 3:43.45 was good for a National Age Group (NAG) record and nearly a second clear of the 3:44.39 of Erisman. In the 800 free, Mijatovic should make a run at the NAG standard of 7:45.19, set in 2024 by Luke Whitlock.<\/p>\n

The other final on Saturday night is the 200 individual medley, where Owen McDonald is the top seed and will look to complement his earlier title in the 100 backstroke. Here is an event-by-event recap of the Night Five finals:<\/p>\n