Caeleb Dressel rebounds from disappointing individual races with remarkable relay split

Caeleb Dressel found himself in an unfamiliar position when he failed to advance to the Olympic final of the men’s 100-meter butterfly. It was a shock for the 27-year-old, who won the event at the Tokyo Olympics and entered this Olympics with seven gold medals. This disappointment came just after he finished sixth in the 50-meter freestyle, another event he won in 2021.

When he withdrew from the 2022 World Championships, it was unclear if Dressel would compete again. He took time away from swimming in late 2022 and early 2023. Dressel returned to the pool to train for the 2024 Olympics. He did not qualify for the 2023 Worlds but did qualify for the Olympics.

It was apparent beforehand that it was going to be tough for Dressel to defend his gold in the 50-meter free. Three years removed from his dominance in this event in Tokyo and with the eight-month break he took from training, he just wasn’t able to get it done. But his failure to make the 100-meter fly final was completely unexpected.

This was not the Olympics that Dressel dreamed of. His individual swims in Paris ended in heartbreak, but his story wasn’t over yet.

Following individual disappointment, Caeleb Dressel finds redemption in last relay

Unlike his experiences in Rio and Tokyo, Dressel is leaving Paris without any individual medals. However, he locked down a gold medal as part of USA’s 4x100 freestyle relay team. He also earned gold in the 4x100 mixed medley since he swam in the prelims. 

Even though Dressel earned two gold medals in Paris, he was facing heartbreak. He was visibly emotional, in tears. Then he had to set it aside. There was another race to swim.

Dressel was still searching for redemption on the final day of Olympic swimming competition. The last men’s swimming event was the 4x100 medley. Dressel, Hunter Armstrong, Ryan Murphy and Nic Fink represented Team USA. Dressel was selected to swim the third leg of the relay, the fly.

The U.S. men won ten straight Olympic gold medals in this event. They had never lost this event in the Olympics. Talk about pressure. With all the history, anything but gold was going to be a disappointment. 

Dressel was incredible in his leg of the race, swimming a 49.41 split. He greatly improved upon his 51.57 split in the 100-fly semifinal. In fact, his time was the fastest butterfly split of anyone in the relay. It also would've won gold in the 100-fly final.

Armstrong closed out strong for the U.S. But it wasn’t enough. China took the gold, the U.S. earned silver and France took bronze.

After the race, Dressel’s smile said it all. He acknowledged in his interview after the race that it was okay that there was a better team on that day. It wasn’t a gold medal, but it was still special. It was clear that Dressel’s relay split was his redemption. 

This is the only non-gold Olympic medal of his career. He has nine Olympic gold medals and one silver. Dressel has not yet expressed if he will continue his competitive career or retire.

Gold would’ve been a storybook ending in Paris, but silver said everything it needed to say. It made a statement that even though Dressel had a bad week and didn't have the Olympics he wanted, he is still a star, and he helped his team earn a medal. He left it all in the pool. Caeleb Dressel is a warrior.