Caeleb Dressel speaks from warm down pool post American Record (Video)

Produced by Coleman Hodges.

Reported by Jared Anderson.

50 FREE – FINALS

Top 3:

  1. Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 18.20
  2. Simonas Bilis, NC State – 18.84
  3. Kristian Gkolomeev, Alabama – 18.95

Caeleb Dressel did it again, going 18.20 to lower his own American record for the third time in the past month and win his second-consecutive 50 free NCAA title.

The record was just 18.66 before Dressel got ahold of it, and the U.S. Open record was 18.47. Dressel has better both of those marks six times over the past five weeks – twice at SECs, twice this morning and now twice at tonight’s finals. Dressel now holds the six fastest swims in history in the event and four of them happened today.

NC State’s Simonas Bilis wasn’t quite able to match his twin 18.7s from prelims, but he did go 18.84 for the silver medal. Meanwhile Alabama’s Kristian Gkolomeev managed to rise all the way up to 18.95 and third place after barely scraping his way into the final through a three-way swim-off in prelims.

A trio of men finished right on the other side of 18 – Mizzou’s Michael Chadwick (19.04), Michigan’s Paul Powers (19.05) and Texas’s John Murray (19.08).

NC State’s Ryan Held fell off his prelims pace some, going 19.20, and Georgia Bulldog Michael Trice was 19.23 for 8th.

In This Story

1
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

1 Comment
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Most Improved Award
8 years ago

CG wins the Most Improved Award. Last year squeezed out the 50 and was 11th in the 100 swimming from the B final. This year = Domination. Great job!!!

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

Read More »