Caeleb Remel Dressel (born August 16, 1996) is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He won a record seven gold medals at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, nine medals, six of which were gold, at the 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, and eight medals, including six gold, at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju. Dressel is a nine-time Olympic gold medalist and holds world records in the 100 meter butterfly (long course), and 100 meter individual medley (short course).
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Dressel won five gold medals, which made him the fifth American to win five gold medals in a single Olympic Games after 1970. Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps (3 times), Eric Heiden, and Matt Biondi were the other four. He also became the first male swimmer to win gold medals in the 50 meter freestyle, the 100 meter freestyle, and the 100 meter butterfly at the same Olympics. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Dressel won gold medals in the 4×100 freestyle relay and 4x100 mixed medley relay, putting him in a joint tie for 2nd-most Olympic golds after Michael Phelps.
Dressel holds American records in the 50 meter freestyle, 50 meter and 100 meter butterfly (long course), and the 50 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly (short course). He also holds American records in the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyle events, and the 100 yard butterfly, and formerly held national records in the 100 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard individual medley. Over the course of his collegiate career, he won NCAA titles in the 50 yard freestyle, 100 yard freestyle, and 100 yard butterfly individual events. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest sprinters in swimming history.
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Early life
Dressel was born on August 16, 1996, in Green Cove Springs, Florida, the son of Christina and Michael Dressel. His father is a veterinarian specializing in urgent care for cats and dogs. Dressel is the third of four children; his three siblings, one brother and two sisters, plus his father were all competitive swimmers setting records and earning honors across the high school and university levels. He and his siblings learned to swim at a young age, for him when he was 4 years old, and by the time Dressel was 8 years old he had committed to competitive year-round swimming.
Dressel attended Clay High School in Green Cove Springs, Florida, and trained with the Bolles School Sharks in Jacksonville where he met his then training partner and now wife, Meghan Haila. He was a collegiate swimmer at the University of Florida starting in 2014 and majored in Resources and Conservation.
Sport career
2012
He led off a 50-yard free relay with a time of 19.82, becoming the first swimmer under 16 years old to break 20 seconds.
At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, Dressel was the youngest male swimmer at 15 years of age and ranked 100th in the 200 meter individual medley in a time of 2:08.08, 121st in the 100 meter butterfly at 57.21 seconds, 121st with a time of 1:55.17 in the 200 meter freestyle, tied for 145th in the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 23.87 seconds, and tied for 152nd in the 100 meter freestyle with his time of 52.21 seconds. After not making the 2012 US Olympic Team, Dressel refocused and set his sights on the 2016 Summer Olympics.
2013
When Dressel was 17 years old, he won six medals, including a gold medal in the 100 meter freestyle in which he broke the Championships record with his time of 48.97 seconds, at the 2013 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in August 2013. His time also broke the National Age Group record set by Michael Phelps in the 100 meter freestyle in 2004 for the 17–18 year old age group by eight hundredths of a second. His other medals were in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay and the mixed 4x100 meter freestyle relay, where he won a silver medal in each event, and in the 50 meter freestyle, 4x200 meter freestyle relay, and the mixed 4x100 meter medley relay in which he won a bronze medal in each. In addition to the events Dressel medaled in, he competed in the 200 meter freestyle where he finished sixth with a time of 1:49.29 and swam in the final of the 4x100 meter medley relay which did not place as it was disqualified. In total, his medal breakdown was one gold medal, two silver medals, and three bronze medals.
At the 2013 Speedo Winter Junior National Championships (the USA Swimming sanctioned national championship meet for 18 and under swimmers), Dressel became the youngest swimmer in history to break the 19 second barrier in the 50 yard freestyle, swimming an 18.94 to lead off his club team's relay.
2015
During his freshman year at the University of Florida, Dressel won the 2015 NCAA title in the 50 yard freestyle when he was 18 years old with a time of 18.67 seconds, which was his first NCAA title, the first NCAA title for the Florida Gators in the men's 50 yard freestyle, and set a new 17—18 national age group record in the event. With his performance, Dressel also became the fastest freshman in the 50 yard freestyle in the history of the NCAA and the second-fastest American in the event, only behind Nathan Adrian.
At the senior 2015 National Championships (long course) in San Antonio, Texas, he won two individual titles, in the 50 meter and the 100 meter freestyle. His winning time of 21.53 in the 50 meter freestyle ranked 4th in the world for 2015.
2016
At the 2016 Men's NCAA Division I Championships, he broke the American and US Open records in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 18.20 and the 100-yard freestyle with 40.46.
At the 2016 US Olympic Trials, Dressel made the 2016 US Olympic Team in the 100 meter freestyle by finishing second with a time of 48.23 seconds, he also placed 4th in the 50 meter freestyle, 7th in the 100 meter butterfly, 32nd in the 200 meter freestyle, and was disqualified in the 200 meter individual medley for a false start. In addition to the five events he raced, Dressel had entered to compete in the 100 meter breaststroke with his best time of 1:02.26 and the 100 meter backstroke, and decided not to race the events. Dressel's performances leading up to and at the 2016 US Olympic Trials earned him recognition as America's best young sprinter by Sports Illustrated and CBS News. Overall, Dressel and coach Gregg Troy chose a forwards mentality to Dressel's training, with Troy expressing Dressel's best could still be four, eight, or more years down the road.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dressel won his first Olympic medal, a gold medal, in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay. In the final, he swam the first leg in 48.10 seconds, which was the second-fastest lead-off relay leg in the finals heat, and was followed by relay teammates Michael Phelps, Ryan Held, and Nathan Adrian in that order. The American team recorded a time of 3:09.92. Of the 13 medals won by Florida Gators at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Dressel became the first athlete to win a medal from the university's sports teams with this gold medal. Dressel and his finals relay teammates earned USA Swimming's Golden Goggle Award for best relay performance of the year in 2016 for their efforts. Dressel and his teammates shared tears in the medal ceremony and while doing a victory lap around the pool after they received their medals, their tearful reactions were highlighted by local news outlet The Florida Times-Union. The relay was also highlighted by SwimSwam as one of their five unforgettable moments of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In the 100 meter freestyle, Dressel finished sixth in the final in a time of 48.02 seconds with fellow United States swimmer Nathan Adrian taking the bronze medal and Kyle Chalmers of Australia winning the gold medal.
Dressel also swam freestyle in the heats of the 4×100 meter medley relay, and won his second gold medal of the 2016 Olympic Games when the finals relay of Ryan Murphy (backstroke), Cody Miller (breaststroke), Michael Phelps (butterfly), and Nathan Adrian (freestyle) placed first in Olympic record time. He swam a time of 47.74 seconds for the freestyle leg of the prelims relay consisting of him, David Plummer (backstroke), Kevin Cordes (breaststroke), and Tom Shields (butterfly).
2017
His junior year of collegiate swimming and leading up to the 2017 NCAA Championships, Dressel became the second person to split under 18.00 seconds for 50 yards of freestyle on a relay, splitting a 17.90 on the 4×50 yard medley relay at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships, which was just 0.04 seconds off the fastest split time of 17.86 seconds swam by Vladimir Morozov his junior year in 2013. At the 2017 NCAA Division I Championships, he broke the American and US Open records in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard freestyle with times of 43.58 and 40.00, respectively. He also tied his 50 freestyle record with an 18.20, the same as the preceding year.
At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Dressel won seven gold medals and set numerous American records. Dressel was named the male swimmer of the meet. He also became the second swimmer to win seven gold medals at a single World Championships, after Michael Phelps in 2007.
On the first day of competition, July 23, Dressel set the American record in the 50 meter butterfly with a time of 22.76, topping the semifinals. Later that evening in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay, Dressel set the American record in the 100 meter freestyle with a time of 47.26 in the leadoff leg. Combined with Townley Haas, Blake Pieroni, and Nathan Adrian, the American team won gold with a time of 3:10.06, earning him his first gold of the Championships.
On day two, Dressel finished fourth in the 50 meter butterfly final with a time of 22.89, missing a medal by 0.05 seconds. On day four, Dressel took part in the 4×100 meter mixed medley relay, swimming the butterfly leg and splitting a 49.92. Along with teammates Matt Grevers, Lilly King, and Simone Manuel, the American team won gold in a new world-record time of 3:38.56. That time broke the record set earlier in the day by Ryan Murphy, Kevin Cordes, Kelsi Worrell, and Mallory Comerford. On day five, Dressel re-set the 100-meter freestyle American record with a 47.17 in the 100 meter freestyle final, en route to winning gold by a margin of 0.70 seconds over silver medalist and teammate Nathan Adrian.
On day seven, Dressel became the first swimmer ever to win three gold medals on a single day. He won the 50 meter freestyle in 21.15, a new world textile best time. Half an hour later he won the 100 meter butterfly in 49.86, again a new world textile best and 0.04 seconds above the world record held by Michael Phelps. The third gold medal came in the 4×100 meter mixed freestyle relay, where he led off in 47.22. Dressel and teammates Adrian, Comerford, and Manuel broke the world record for this relay with a time of 3:19.60.
2018
At the 2018 Southeastern Conference, SEC, Swimming and Diving Championships in College Station, Texas, in February, Dressel lowered his best time in the 100 yard breaststroke from a 51.88 to a 50.03, which broke the former American, US Open, and NCAA records set by Kevin Cordes in 2014 at 50.04 by one hundredth of a second. Earlier in the Championships, Dressel also set a new American record in the 200 yard individual medley with his time of 1:38.13, lowering the record set by David Nolan in 2015 by 0.25 seconds. Dressel's 100 yard breaststroke record garnered the attention of 2016 Olympic bronze medalist in breaststroke, Cody Miller, who produced a perspective piece on the American record and posted it to his, Miller's, YouTube channel less than two weeks after Dressel broke the record. Later on, in August 2020, Dressel provided his analysis of the record in a video and put it on his own YouTube channel.
At the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in March, Dressel won all three of his individual races, and won his first relay national title.
On day 2 of the competition, March 22, 2018, Dressel broke the NCAA, American, and US Open records in the 50 yard freestyle thrice. He first swam an 18.11 in the individual preliminaries race in the morning session. He later improved upon that record in the evening leading off The University of Florida's national championship winning relay with a 17.81 split, and finalized his record with a 17.63 in the 50 yard freestyle final. The next day, he broke the American and US open records in the 100 yard butterfly, swimming a 42.80. On the final day of competition, Dressel won the 100 yard freestyle by more than a second in a time of 39.90, completing his sweep of individual events for a second time. This secured him CSCAA Swimmer of the Meet honors for the third year in a row, as he became the first swimmer ever to break the 18 second 50 free barrier, the 40 second 100 free barrier, and the 43 second 100 fly barrier in the history of yards swimming. His split of 17.30 on the 4×50 yard medley relay marked the fastest 50 yard freestyle split time in the history of the NCAA.
In advance of the 2018 National Championships, Dressel was highlighted by NBC Sports as one of ten swimmers to watch at the meet with his entries in the 50 meter freestyle, 50 meter breaststroke, 50 meter butterfly, 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter breaststroke, 100 meter butterfly, 200 meter freestyle, and 200 meter individual medley. At the 2018 US National Championships held in July 2018 in Irvine, California, Dressel won the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 50.50 seconds after finishing second in the 50 meter butterfly and sixth in the 100 meter freestyle. Dressel's win in the 100 meter butterfly secured him a spot on the Pan Pacific Championships team, where he could also compete in the 100 meter freestyle even though he finished sixth because qualified athletes were allowed to compete in any event at the meet. He also placed second in the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 21.67, just 0.18 seconds behind Michael Andrew, and decided not to swim the 50 meter breaststroke, 100 meter breaststroke, 200 meter freestyle, and 200 meter individual medley.
2019
On May 17, 2019, Dressel edged out Chase Kalisz in the 100 meter breaststroke at the 2019 Atlanta Classic in Atlanta with a time of 1:01.22 in the final, dropping over a second from his best time of 1:02.26 heading into the 2016 Olympic Trials, and qualifying for the 2020 US Olympic Trials in the event.
At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea, he first won a gold as part of the team in men's 4×100 meter freestyle relay. He then won gold in the 50 meter butterfly, an event he failed to win in 2017. He is the first American man to win that event, and he set a new national and championship record time of 22.35 seconds for the event. This is followed by a national record and the third fastest time in history (46.96) in the 100 meter freestyle.
In the 100 meter butterfly event, Dressel broke Michael Phelps' ten-year-old record by 0.32 second in the semi-final, setting a new world-record time of 49.50 seconds. He won gold in the final the following day. That same day within two hours, Dressel won two more gold medals – in the 50 meter freestyle in a Championships record time, and as part of the team in the mixed 4×100 meter freestyle relay, which was won in a world-record time of 3 minutes, 19.40 seconds. This was a repeat of his achievement in Hungary in 2017, and it was also the first time anyone won three gold medals in one day at the Championships two times.
In the final day of the Championships, Dressel helped win a silver medal in the men's 4×100 meter medley relay. The medal was the eighth that Dressel won at the Championships, and the most medals of any type that a person had won at a single long course Championships. FINA named Dressel male swimmer of the meet, which he also won in 2017.
In 2019 he was a member of the inaugural International Swimming League representing the Cali Condors, who finished third place in the final match in Las Vegas, Nevada in December. Dressel won the Most Valuable Player of the match honor in all 3 matches he participated in as well as winning the skins race each time. Dressel swam the 50 meter freestyle in Las Vegas and beat Florent Manaudou's world record of 20.26 from 2014 by going a 20.24. He also won the 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly, and 50 meter butterfly.
2020
Continuing to represent the Cali Condors, Dressel broke four world records in the 100-meter butterfly (at 47.78 seconds) and the 50-meter freestyle world record, which he already held (to 20.16 seconds). He is the first person to swim the 100-meter butterfly in less than 48 seconds. He also broke his own 100 IM record twice, dropping it to 49.88 the first time, and 49.28 the second time. These two record breaks occurred one weekend after he was the first swimmer to ever do the 100-meter individual medley in under 50 seconds.
In total, Dressel qualified to compete in seven events at the Olympic Trials: the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, 200 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly, 200 meter butterfly, 100 meter breaststroke, and 200 meter individual medley.
On day two of the 2020 USA Swimming Olympic Trials (held in June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), June 14, 2021, Dressel competed in the 200 meter freestyle prelims in the morning, swimming a 1:46.63 and ranking 2nd overall for the heats. Dressel's swim moved him up in rankings to the all-time 20th fastest American in the event. Following his morning swim, Dressel decided not to swim in the event's semifinals.
On day four of competition, Wednesday June 16, 2021, Dressel ranked 5th out of all prelims heats in the 100 meter freestyle swimming a 48.25 and advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals in the evening of the same day, Dressel ranked first with a time of 47.77 and advanced to the final. On day five, June 17, 2021, Dressel won the 100 m freestyle with a time of 47.39 and qualifying him for the US Olympic Swimming team in the 100 m freestyle and the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He tied the US Open record and Championships record for the 100 meter freestyle with his swim. This marked the second Olympic Games Dressel qualified to compete at.
On day six, Dressel won the prelims heats of the 100 meter butterfly with a 50.17 breaking the US Open record and Championships record. On the same day in the semifinals, he improved further on his US Open record dropping it to a 49.76, earning Dressel the top 3 times in history in the event.
In the morning of day seven, Dressel swam a 21.29 in the prelims heats of the 50 meter freestyle, taking first, breaking the Championships record, and advancing to the semifinals. In the evening of day seven, Dressel swam in the final of the 100 meter butterfly and the semifinals of the 50 meter freestyle. In the final of the 100 meter butterfly, Dressel swam a 49.87, winning the final and swimming under 50 seconds for the fifth time. His swim qualified him to represent the United States in the 100 meter butterfly at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the semifinals of the 50 meter freestyle, Dressel posted a 21.51, advancing as the fastest seed to the final.
2022
The 2022 USA Swimming International Team Trials were from April 26 to April 30 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Caeleb Dressel swam the 50 freestyle, the 100 freestyle, the 50 butterfly, and the 100 butterfly. He won all four of those events and is set to swim them at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.
On the first day of the 2022 World Championships, Dressel led-off the 4×100 meter freestyle relay in a time of 47.67 seconds, helping achieve the first relay gold medal of the Championships for the United States. The next day, he backed up the gold medal in the relay with a gold medal in the 50 meter butterfly, finishing first with a time of 22.57 seconds, which was over two-tenths of a second faster than silver medalist Nicholas Santos of Brazil.
On the fourth day of the world championships, Dressel swam the 100 meter freestyle in the prelims heats to achieve the second-fastest seed going into the semifinals. However, he decided to withdraw from further competition for health reasons.
2025
Caleb has teamed up with his college sprint coach, Stephen Jungbluth, in Jacksonville and has joined the Sporting Jax Aquatic Club.
Results in major championships
a Dressel swam only in the heats.
b Dressel chose to withdraw from the 100 freestyle due to medical concerns.
Personal bests
As of September 11, 2021
World records
National records
Guinness World Records
"Most FINA world records held by an individual (current)", August 11, 2021: 9 FINA world records in swimming.
Awards and honors
ESPY Award for Best Olympian, Men's Sports: 2022
James E. Sullivan Award: 2021
People, Sexiest Olympian: 2021
FINA, Top 10 Moments: 2020 Summer Olympics (#6)
Olympics.com, Top 5 Moments: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics (#3)
Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Year (male): 2021
Sports Illustrated's Fittest 50: 2019 (#22), 2020 (#10), 2021 (#7), 2022 (#3)
2019 FINA World Championships: Best Male Swimmer
2017 FINA World Championships: Best Male Swimmer
FINA Athlete of the Year in Swimming (male): 2017, 2019, 2021
USA Swimming, Athlete of the Year: 2017, 2019, 2021
Golden Goggle Award Male Athlete of the Year: 2017, 2019, 2021
Golden Goggle Award Male Race of the Year (100 meter butterfly): 2017, 2019
Golden Goggle Award Relay Performance of the Year: 2016, 2018, 2021
Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year (male): 2017, 2019, 2021
Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year (male): 2017, 2019, 2021
Personal life
Swim analysis
Dressel began posting videos deconstructing some of his past swims to his YouTube channel in July 2020. In the first video, he analyzed one of his swims where he set a new world record in the 100-meter butterfly. He has also shared critique of his past races and swims with SwimSwam. Leading up to the 2020 Summer Olympics, he ventured into analyses of swimming in pop culture. Dressel provided his perspective to GQ on swimming scenes from various movies including scenes featuring survival swimming (such as in Cast Away and Kingsman: The Secret Service) and competitive swimming (as in Pride).
Sponsorships and collaborations
On July 19, 2018, Dressel turned professional by signing a sponsorship deal with swimwear brand Speedo. In September 2020, SPIRE Institute and Academy announced collaborations with Dressel for providing support to students of SPIRE through various avenues such as curriculum development, training, and facilities design. Leading up to the 2020 Summer Olympics, one of Dressel's sponsors, Toyota, specially designed a vehicle inspired by his tattoos.
Marriage
In 2013, Dressel started a romantic relationship with his future wife, Meghan, a child counselor and former breaststroker who competed collegiately for Florida State University, and in 2019 they were engaged. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, planning the wedding was one way Dressel stayed busy during quarantine, as was hiking a 60-mile portion of the Appalachian Trail. They married on Valentine's Day weekend, February 13, 2021, in their shared home state of Florida. The couple welcomed a son, August, in February 2024 and a daughter, Josie, in June 2025.
Religion
He was raised Christian in his youth and his faith grew while in college. His large eagle tattoo was inspired by the Bible verse Isaiah 40:31, which he shared with Sports Illustrated in 2016 is his favorite Bible verse. During his senior year of high school, Dressel gave up swimming for a time because of his struggle with "mental demons", speaking about that period in his life Dressel said:
Coming out of that, I started swimming again and really just put all my trust in God and knowing that he's going to take care of everything for me, good or bad. I really learned a lot, and I really learned to see the light at the end of the tunnel and trust what God is doing, whether it be a rough point in your life or a top pinnacle in your life. You've just got to take pauses and really trust what he's doing.