US swimmer Caeleb Dressel shatters his second Olympic record in 100-meter butterfly after taking home gold in the 100-meter freestyle
- Caeleb Dressel broke the Olympic record for the 100-meter butterfly during semifinal heats on Friday
- It followed his first record-setting win in the 100-meter freestyle on Thursday
- He earned his first gold medal in the 4×100 relay on Monday
American swimmer Caeleb Dressel shattered an Olympic record in the 100-meter butterfly hours after setting another record with his gold-medal win in the 100-meter freestyle.
Minutes after Hungary’s Kristof Milak took down the mark in the first semifinal heat on Friday, Dressel went even faster with a time of 49.71 seconds in the second heat.
It was the third-fastest time in history and left Milak as the second-fastest qualifier at 50.31.
In the preliminaries, Dressel tied the former Olympic record of 50.39 set by Singapore‘s Jospeh Schooling to win gold at the 2016 Rio Games.
Dressel, 24, will be a big favorite in Saturday morning’s final, though he could get pushed by Milak. The Hungarian already won the 200 fly with a dominating victory.
American swimmer Caeleb Dressel shattered an Olympic record in the 100-meter butterfly hours after setting another record with his gold-medal win in the 100-meter freestyle
Minutes after Hungary’s Kristof Milak took down the mark in the first semifinal heat on Friday, Dressel went even faster with a time of 49.71 seconds in the second heat
Dressel, whose tattoo sleeve includes an eagle, a bear and an alligator while Peaty’s are a lion and various Greek gods and Roman gladiators, is seen as the natural successor to greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps.
On Thursday he set another Olympic record in the 100-meter freestyle, claiming his second gold medal win after Team USA took the top slot in the 4×100 relay.
With a time of 47.02 seconds, Dressel beat the defending Olympic champion, Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, by a mere six-hundredths of a second, leaving the 2016 winner with a silver medal this time. The bronze was claimed by Russia’s Kliment Kolesenikov.
Dressel poses with his gold medal for the men’s 100-meter freestyle on Thursday
Dressel held off the defending Olympic champion, Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, with a furious sprint to the wall during the 100-meter freestyle
Dressel previously won two golds, both in group events, in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
During his event on Thursday, his wife Meghan joined his parents and friends at a watch party – who were seen ecstatically screaming after his incredible win.
Dressel fought back tears as he spoke with NBC News after clinching the gold medal.
‘It’s a really tough year, it’s really hard. So, to have the results show up, I mean — it really came together, so I’m happy,’ Dressel said.
He told his family and friends: ‘Love you guys, thank you.’
Dressel, who was the favorite to win the race, told Reuters afterward: ‘I wasn’t worried about anything at all.’
‘It means a lot, I knew the weight was on my shoulders,’ he said.
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