So I can’t be exerting that energy that I should put into my swimming.” - Caeleb Dressel “I cry a lot and I am an emotional person. “I have to manage my emotions,” he continued. It is something that comes with the sport when you are on top of the podium.” “I know my name is thrown out there and I could care less about it. The semi-final and final is when I found my groove. My first swim I felt like I was turning the pressure into stress. It is when you turn it into stress that is when it becomes a problem. “I am pretty good at putting a face on,” Dressel told inews after. It had been a lifetime in the making, but the extreme pressure of the past five years had suddenly been released. The look of total relief and exhaustion on Dressel’s face when he out-touched Rio 2016 champion Kyle Chalmers to land the coveted men’s 100m freestyle title was telling. Two days later, his real emotions came out. But it was all business for Dressel, who was already focussed on his three individual events to come. He gained viral attention after being picked up by cameras tossing his gold medal to Brooks Curry in the stands, a touching tribute to his younger teammate who swam in the preliminary heats for the team. His first job in Japan was to help the USA’ men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team to victory, which he completed alongside Blake Pieroni, Bowen Becker and Zach Apple without a hitch. The year delay to the Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic only heightened that pressure. The swim star was one of the most talked-about athletes across any sport, and the level of expectation placed upon him was mentally exhausting at times. Like the practice log, he's been jotting down notes in this book since high school, too.Dressel made no secret of the struggles he experienced in the run up to Tokyo 2020. The last journal is filled with inspirational quotes Dressel has heard or read from books, movies, and billboards. "No one gets to read the journal except me."ĭressel has one rule about his journals: "When I close the pages, the problems – good or bad – are over, I learn from it, and move on," he said. "It's for any anxious thoughts I've had, what I did that day, who I did it with, if I had a good time," he said. Dressel also keeps a nightly journal, where he chronicles his day from start to finish. He explained that the practice log includes daily entries that go into explicit detail of every swim practice (what strokes he swam, short or long course, pace times, etc.), as well as how he felt during practice. "I've been keeping practice logs since high school for statistical stuff and technique stuff," Dressel said in an interview with FINA Aquatics World Magazine. Here are five facts you should know about this now two-time Olympian.Ī big fan of journaling and self-reflection, Dressel keeps three journals, two of which he's maintained for nearly a decade. In 2019, Dressel became the new world-record holder for the 100-meter butterfly, out-swimming Phelps's previous record by 0.32 seconds.ĭressel could have the biggest Olympics of his career in Tokyo, and it's only just getting started. However, it's his accomplishments since then that really put him on the map. And, should he compete and medal in all seven events - which is likely given his impressive career records and times - he'll be only the fourth American swimmer to do so in a single Olympics, joining the ranks of swimming greats Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, and Matt Biondi.Ī former swimmer from the University of Florida, which has produced a number of Olympic swimmers, including Ryan Lochte and Elizabeth Beisel, Dressel first began turning heads at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he won two gold medals in the 4x100-meter free and 4x100-meter medley relays. The 13-time World gold medalist stole the show at the 2021 US Olympic Swimming Trials, successfully securing a spot on USA Swimming's Olympic roster and a diving block in the 100-meter butterfly, 100-meter freestyle, 50-meter freestyle, and up to four team relays.
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