US finds another superstar
Comparisons with Michael Phelps inevitable after prodigy’s remarkable performances
Caeleb Dressel knows the comparisons are coming. After pulling off an unprecedented Triple Crown at swimming’s world championships, it’s time to take on the legacy of Michael Phelps.
The 20-year-old Dressel established himself as America’s newest star of the pool yesterday in Budapest, becoming the first swimmer to win three gold medals on a single night at either the worlds or Olympics.
Not even Phelps managed such an audacious feat.
“The comparisons are probably inevitable,” Dressel said. “But I’m not the same person as Michael.”
Yet it was downright Phelps-like the way he pulled off a remarkable night of swimming at Duna Arena. Dressel raced three times over about two hours — and won every time. Not to mention, he had to find time to warm down and get to three medal ceremonies.
“I think I only had to run twice,” Dressel said with a smile.
The University of Florida student — he’s got an algebra exam coming up tomorrow that he’ll be taking online — has won six gold medals in Budapest.
That gives him a shot at moving into more rarefied territory: Phelps is the only swimmer to win seven golds at a world championships, which he did at Melbourne in 2007 as a prelude to his record eight golds the following year at the Beijing Olympics.
Dressel will be a virtual certainty to win his seventh when he competes in the 4x100m medley relay early today, the final event of the championships.
Again, Phelps.
“It’s a tough question,” Dressel said. “I don’t know if I welcome them. But I know they’re going to come.
“I don’t think it puts any pressure on me. I just want to keep doing my thing at this meet and for the future.” Phelps was certainly impressed. He texted his congratulations shortly after Dressel led off a worldrecord performance in the 4x100m
I don’t think it puts any pressure on me. I just want to keep doing my thing at this meet and for the future. Caeleb Dressel
those comparisons to mixed freestyle relay, capping a night that also included victories in the 50m free and the 100m butterfly.
“This kid is on fire,” Phelps wrote on Instagram, including a picture of him celebrating with Dressel during a gold medal-winning relay they were both on last summer at the Rio Olympics. “So damn fun to watch buddy.”
Dressel started the night with a furious dash from one end of the pool to the other, adding the 50m freestyle world title to the 100m freestyle he already had.
He came back about half an hour later to nearly break Phelps’ world record in the 100m butterfly, posting a time of 49.86s that was just four- hundredths off the mark set in 2009 at the rubber suit-aided championships in Rome.
The final relay was merely a coronation, the Americans romping to gold in 3m 19.60s — eclipsing by nearly 3.5s the mark they set two years ago at the worlds.
Dressel even managed to overshadow Katie Ledecky, who won her fifth gold medal of the meet by cruising to victory in the 800m freestyle. Yet Budapest will be remembered as a bit of a disappointment for the star of the 2016 Rio Olympics, who settled for silver in the 200m freestyle and didn’t come close to breaking any personal bests.
Ledecky won in 8m 12.68s, nearly 8s off her world record at Rio.
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom was another standout, bouncing back from a disappointing loss the previous night to win gold in the 50m butterfly and set a world record in the 50m freestyle semifinals. Her time of 23.67s broke the mark of 23.73s, set in 2009 by Britta Steffen, her second world record of the meet.