2026 PRO SWIM SERIES – AUSTIN
- January 14-17, 2026
- Austin, Texas
- Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
Nine-time Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel has confirmed his participation for this week’s opening leg of the 2026 Pro Swim Series in Austin, posting on Instagram this morning with a caption hinting that he’s looking forward to racing.
View this post on Instagram
The 29-year-old will compete for the second time since making the move from the University of Florida pro group to the Sporting Jax Aquatic Club under former Gator coach Steve Jungbluth at the beginning of October, taking on a more personalized training program that he dove into late last year on the SwimSwam Podcast.
Dressel competed for the first time since early August at last month’s U.S. Open, posting respectable times of 21.94 in the 50 free, 23.45 in the 50 fly and 51.33 in the 100 fly, with his 50 free swim notably matching what he produced in August and his 50 fly performance just shy of what he went at the U.S. Summer Championships (23.28). In the 100 fly, he went under 52 seconds for the first time since the Paris Olympics.
This week’s meet in Austin will notably be the first time Dressel competes at the January leg of USA Swimming’s Pro Swim Series, having usually waited until the March meet to make his PSS debut for the year. (USA Swimming didn’t host a January meet in 2025 and the 2022 edition was canceled.)
Entered with his times from the 2024 Olympic Trials, Dressel is seeded 2nd in the 50 free (21.41) and 100 fly (50.19) and 5th in the 100 free (47.53) this week in Austin.
He’s also ranked 4th in the 50 fly with his 23.28 clocking from the 2025 U.S. Summer Championships, a swim that saw him narrowly miss out on a spot on the 2026 U.S. Pan Pacific Championship roster.
Despite not being on the Pan Pac roster, Dressel still has plenty to look forward to in 2026, likely targeting the U.S. National Championships in late July in long course before eyeing a spot on the U.S. team for the Short Course World Championships at the end of the year in Beijing. USA Swimming CEO Kevin Ring has said the organization is planning to host a selection meet for SC Worlds this coming fall.
Dressel will take on a loaded field this week that includes the two men who beat him out for an individual spot in the 100 free at the 2024 Olympics, Jack Alexy (also the new American Record holder in the 100 free, having broken Dressel’s record last summer) and Chris Guiliano, plus French powerhouse Maxime Grousset, who is the reigning world champion in the men’s 50 and 100 fly.
Yaaass Daddy Dressel! 🥰
I wonder if Steve jungbluth throws metal objects at Caleb like he did to swimmers at Florida that was only caught out by a visiting coach,also the fact Steve burnt many of the founders at jacksonville
I think it is slightly funny that, not only is CD entered into the meet, but we now have a thread for him actually saying that he will do the meet.
Will there be a new thread for when he gets to Austin? Warms up?
Sure let’s do it.
I am here for the warm-up thread.
I hope you don’t think that I’m complaining. I love that SwimSwam is following along. It’s just that, in the case of CD, we seem to watch very closely, for a variety of reasons.
We can never have enough of Daddy Dressel articles 🤗
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Is this being streamed anywhere?
Yes. All sessions on USA Swimming app, and 1/15, 1/16 on Peacock.
Thank you
We’re so fucking back
Retype to get around Await Approval:
You can say **** here?
You can’t. WaterAce can.
I love Caeleb, but lots of people suggesting he may scratch the meet…i doubt it…it’s time to get a checkpoint again and why not do it at an early meet starting 2026?
Or, maybe he’s signing autographs for $5 apiece??
Should be fun to see how this plays out.