‘Heartbroken’ Caeleb Dressel inconsolable after being unable to defend gold medals at Paris Olympics

Cameras captured Caeleb Dressel inconsolable, knowing he could not repeat his heroics at Paris Olympics 2024.

‘Heartbroken’ Caeleb Dressel inconsolable after being unable to defend gold medals at Paris Olympics

Caeleb Dressel could not fight for gold in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly at the Paris Olympics 2024 (Image via Open Source/X)

Team USA’s flag bearer in the men’s swimming events were Ryan Murphy and a certain Caeleb Dressel. Murphy netted an individual medal. But Caeleb Dressel was supposed to top that. After all, he is the reigning 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly Olympic champion. But his attempts to cement his legacy came short, leaving the 27-year-old heartbroken at the Paris Olympics 2024.

In the 50m freestyle, Dressel finished with a time of 21:61, which was only good enough for 6th place. In the 100m butterfly, the situation was worse. He finished his semifinals race more than two seconds off the world record time he set at the Tokyo Olympics.

Time magazine reported that the 27-year-old spoke with reporters after the semifinals, and once he came to know that he ended outside the top 10, he left the media area. NBC cameras captured him, inconsolable, knowing he could not repeat his heroics.

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Seeing the superstar in tears was heartbreaking for American fans. His slower pace may have influenced Team USA swimming’s decision to not field him in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final. The Americans ended up setting a new world record in that event with Ryan Murphy leading the charge.

Caeleb Dressel had Snoop Dogg alongside his wife and baby when he won the 4×100 freestyle relay gold. But now Dressel leaves the Paris Olympics 2024 with just that medal to show. More importantly, it will cast a doubt on his future in the sport as he almost did not make it to his 3rd Summer Games.

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Caeleb Dressel battled stress to come back to competitive swimming

After creating history at the Tokyo Olympics, Caeleb Dressel was expected to continue his domination in the short races. However, he then withdrew from the 2022 World Championships, citing mental health issues. Dressel felt burdened by the stress of competing and racing, and wanted some time away from the sport.

Caeleb Dressel leaves Paris Olympics 2024 with just the 4x100m freestyle relay gold to show
Caeleb Dressel leaves Paris Olympics 2024 with just the 4x100m freestyle relay gold to show (Image via Open Source/X)

Swimming fans thought they had lost their superstar to the vigors of competition, similar to what Simone Biles faced when she withdrew while at the Tokyo games. But his wife Meghan helped him return to competitive swimming. He returned after almost nine months away from racing to train alongside training partners Katie Ledecky and Bobby Finke.

The birth of their son August in February this year gave further motivation for the soon to be 28-year-old to dominate the world stage again. But with these two heartbreaking losses, no one knows if Caeleb Dressel, the poster child for Team USA men’s swimming, will continue competing in the world of swimming, let alone the next Olympics.

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