Dressel Dashes Back Into 50 Free Contention In 21.41, Guiliano Blocks Jack By 0.01
Caeleb Dressel has not been a contender in world-class waters since he added five golds to his Olympic medal haul in Tokyo, two of them in solo sprint events, after two relay victories at his Rio 2016 Games debut but this day he bolted back into the spotlight with a 21.41 victory in a 50m freestyle that rippled with tangible relief.
On to the Team USA 4x100m free relay on Wednesday at U.S Trials that got underway last weekend, Dressel was locked out of the defence of the 100m title by Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy, the latter 0.15sec ahead of the American record holder.
The same two rivals were a danger again today in the dash, as was Matt King, but this time, Dressel refused to yield: his reaction time a snap as fastest off the blocks at 0.62sec with next-wavers Guiliano and King, the fastest man ever in a textile suit rolled that fraction faster into stroke to build a momentum fit to keep the closest of the hungry hunters at bay by 0.28sec.
Dressel’s 21.41- which was followed by his 50.79 lead time in 100 ‘fly semis, is fourth-fastest on the global rankings this year adrift the 2023 World champion Cameron McEvoy and the 2022 World, European and Commonwealth champion Ben Proud, who clocked 21.62 at the helm of the dash final at the Sette Colli meet in Rome today:
| 1 | 21.13 | Cameron McEvoy | AUS | World Championships | Doha | 16/02/2024 |
| 2 | 21.25 | Ben Proud | GBR | British Championships | London | 06/04/2024 |
| 3 | 21.38 | Vladyslav Bukhov | UKR | World Championships | Doha | 16/02/2024 |
| 4 | 21.41 | Caeleb Dressel | USA | U.S. Trials | Indianapolis | 21/06/2024 |
| 5 | 21.48 | Josh Liendo | CAN | Canadian Trials | Toronto | 18/05/2024 |
In 21.69, Guiliano, blocked King not only from the top two but, potentially, the Olympic team for Paris: King finished sixth in the 100m and with no solo event is unlikely to be added to any relay reserve roster under the newest rules aimed at restricting relay only swimmers.
Guiliano, meanwhile, has had a stellar trials and will head to his Olympic debut in Paris with an abundance of targets: already on the team for the 100m (as winner) and 200m freestyle (as 2nd man home after Luke Hobson) and likely swims in all three men’s relays, added yet another event to his list of Paris Olympic-debut targets.
All eyes on what happens next to one of three Olympic champion of Tokyo on the men’s side who were forced to take time out of the pressure cooker to recover from mental-health strain this past and short three-year Olympic cycle after the long, Covid-extended, five-year one before it: like Britain’s Adam Peaty and Hungary’s Kristof Milak, Dressel has lived through a torrid time and come out the other side a contender yet.
More on that after the race in Indianapolis today:
The Result:
After The Race:
Dressel & The Drain He Had To Switch Off
In an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2022, Dressel revealed how his daily logbook had become a pit of his darkest fears and nightmares.
âYeah, Fxxx me, fxxxng terrible. My body is done. Oh jeez. ⌠I know Iâm laughing a little bit, but when youâre writing this, this isnât as a joke. This is good information.”
He had dealt with issues of pressure earlier in his career when he quit after becoming world junior champion, SI noting that he had “struggled” during his high school and college days, too.
And then he missed something he also loved: swimming, being in the water, using the talents he knew he had. As a Gator at the University of Florida under the guidance of coach Gregg Troy, he flourished, claimed his first two Olympic golds in Rio relays.
Somewhere along the way, Dressel began to have panic attacks. Cristina, his mother, thought her some was suffering heart attacks because he would go “white as a ghost, slurring his speech and shaking.â Doctors diagnosed anxiety.
Dressel, who, before racing, flew home from World titles in 2022 without explanation other that “for his personal well-being”, spoke to SI about the consequences: âI didnât want to do anythingâwasnât going to school, wasnât swimming. [I] was pretty much just laying in bed for all hours of the day for a couple month.
Cristina told the publication: “I was like, âCaeleb you have to get out of this dark roomâŚâ He was just in a deep depression. He just didnât want to be around people ⌠I think it was just a reminder of, âGreat, I let this person down âcause I didnât get a world record.ââ
Dressel took a long break for the second time in his career, this time one of eight months. The most significant aspects of his comeback and ability to win again today have been the need to love what he does (tick) and harnessing the art of recognising mental clutter for what it is, that very act the prerequisite to processing and calming the mind.
In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily before Trials, Dressel noted that heâs been seeing a therapist at least once a week for the last two years and has cut back on checking social media. He told WMD:
âSome people just have a better skill set to deal with the pressure. Quite honestly, mineâs not that great. Itâs not something I was born to deal with, which sucks to say, considering that there are millions of people watching the OlympicsâŚ
âI can handle the physical elements of the sport. The waterâs never hurt me. Iâve always had a great relationship with the water. The sport and water are two totally different thingsâŚ
âThe mental side of the sport has been the biggest difference for me this year; tuning into my mental chatter, welcoming it, whether it be negative or positive. It has helped me deal with pressure and media and outside forces I canât control.â
Caeleb Dressel – Photo – glory in Tokyo – by Patrick B. Kraemer
In Paris, the Olympic bubble will help him stick to that to as certain extent, reassured, perhaps, by the knowledge that he faced a ton of pressure in Tokyo and withstood the test with flying colours on five times of asking, each of those moments golden.
No two Games are alike but this day, Dressel showed the result of dealing with his demons, just as Peaty did at his trials and Milak at his.
A podium for each would be a very fine thing in Paris but one thing all three have in common is clear: regardless of the ways in which they have learned to find perspective and cope in the cauldron, their competitiveness remains the same. They want to win.
And just as a home support and a new arrival helped Peaty in that last long year beyond when the Games should have been held in 2020 and when they were held in 2021, this may well help Dressel too:
G*UI*liano
Thanks Ben. corrected… Max Giuliani at AUS trials must have set the pattern in a mind moving too fast đ
Yup, Giuliano is a much more common spelling.