Caeleb Dressel won his third gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics with a world record in the 100-meter butterfly Saturday.
Dressel led right from the start and held off Hungary’s Kristof Milak to touch in 49.45 seconds, breaking the mark of 49.50 that the American set at the 2019 world championships in Gwangju.
Milak, winner of the 200 fly, earned the silver with a blistering 49.68. The bronze went to Switzerland’s Noe Ponti.
When he saw the ‘WR’ beside his name, Dressel smiled and joined hands with Milak in the lane next to him. They raised their arms together before Dressel flexed his left arm and pumped it in the air.
‘He´s going to put me out of a job one day, so I’m just trying to hang on as long as I can,’ Dressel said. ‘Kristof executed perfectly. We both swam exactly the race we needed to.’
Caeleb Dressel, of the United States, swims in the men’s 100-meter butterfly final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Caeleb Dressel, of United States, celebrates wining the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter butterfly final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Caeleb Dressel won his third gold medal of the Tokyo Olympic in the 100m butterfly
Dressel’s victory came in the first of three races on his morning schedule.
But it was a morning of mixed emotions and chaotic racing at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Dressel set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly, but was basically doomed before he even dove into the pool on the new mixed relay Saturday.
So went his chances of joining a very exclusive club. His bid to win six gold medals fell apart with another U.S. relay debacle. The Americans were too far behind in the 4×100-meter mixed medley when their top swimmer took over, so the best Dressel could do was rally the U.S. to a fifth-place finish in an event that features two men and two women on each team. Britain set a world record to win the gold.
‘Fifth place is unacceptable for USA Swimming,’ Dressel said. ‘It stings.’
It was a disappointing capper to a golden morning for the Americans, whose biggest swimming stars both ascended to the top of the medal podium.
He held off Hungary’s Kristof Milak to break his own world record time of 49.45 on Saturday
Dressel is in contention to become of the most successful swimmers at an individual Games
CORRECTS TO RYAN MURPHY NOT JAMES GUY – Caeleb Dressel, of the United States, left, talks with teammate Ryan Murphy after they finished fifth in the mixed 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Dressel had hoped to become the only the the fourth swimmer and fifth athlete overall to win six gold medals at a single Olympics but it wasn’t to be.
Swimming icon Michael Phelps did it twice, capturing six golds at the 2004 Athens Games before setting the record with eight golds in Beijing four years later.
Phelps broke the mark held by Mark Spitz, who won seven golds at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Also winning six golds were East German swimmer Kristin Otto in 1988 and gymnast Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus in 1992, when he represented the Unified Team that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It was a great day in the pool for the USA as Katie Ledecky also claimed gold in 800m freestyle
It was a big day at the pool, with Katie Ledecky also claiming gold in her final event of these games. Ledecky was the big favorite to win the 800 freestyle, an event she hasn’t lost since 2010.
She is now the first female swimmer to win six individual golds in her Olympic career, breaking a tie with Hungary’s Krisztina Egerszegi.
Ledecky already won the 1,500 free in Tokyo, to go along with two silver medals and a fifth-place finish in the 200 freestyle.
Dressel’s victory came in the first of three races on his morning schedule.
Dressel also advanced easily in the men’s freestyle semifinals with the top final time (21.42).
The mixed medley was another story.
For the second time at these Olympics, the U.S. failed to win a relay medal, joining a fourth-place finish in the men´s 4×200 freestyle. Before Tokyo, the Americans had never failed to finish in top three of an Olympic relay they entered.
The Americans tried a different strategy than everyone else, going with Dressel on the freestyle while the other seven teams all closed with a woman.
The Americans faltered when 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby – already the only woman swimming the breaststroke leg -had her goggles knocked off on her dive into the water.
The 17-year-old struggled to finish in 1:05.09, her goggles dangling from her mouth as the rest of the field pulled away.
‘I´ve never really had that happen before,’ said Jacoby, who one wears a single cap while most swimmers wear two largely to prevent such a problem. ‘I was definitely panicking a little. My turn was where it was most rough because I couldn´t see the wall.’
Her teammates praised her effort.
Caeleb Dressel, of United States, swims to win the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter butterfly final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Caeleb Dressel, of United States, finishes a men’s 50-meter freestyle semifinal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
‘Anyone that swam with their goggles in their mouth like she did (knows) she did fantastic,’ said Ryan Murphy, who took the opening backstroke leg.
When 18-year-old Torri Huske passed off to Dressel after the butterfly leg, the Americans were 8.01 seconds behind the leaders in last place.
Dressel furiously tried to cut into the huge gap. His 46.99 leg was better than his winning time in the 100 free individual event, but it wasn´t nearly enough to chase down all the teams ahead of him.
‘Everyone swam as well as they could in the moment,’ Dressel said. ‘We got beat by a better team.’
Britain’s team of Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin claimed the gold with a world record of 3:37.58. The silver went to China in 3:38.86, while Australia took the bronze in 3:38.95.
Dressel touched in 3:40.58, also finishing behind Italy.
He was hoping to sweep his six events, which would have made him only the the fourth swimmer and fifth athlete overall to win six gold medals at a single Olympics.
Swimming icon Michael Phelps did it twice, capturing six golds at the 2004 Athens Games before setting the record with eight golds in Beijing four years later.
For Dressel, who has two more races on the final day of swimming, five golds is now the best he can do.