Reported by Lauren Neidigh.
MEN’S 200 IM:
- GOLD: Caeleb Dressel, Florida, 1:38.13
- SILVER: Hugo Gonzalez, Auburn, 1:40.67
- BRONZE: Mark Szaranek, Florida, 1:41.00
Caeleb Dressel put together an eye-popping 1:38.13, shattering the American Record and becoming the fastest man in history by over a second. The former record stood as a 1:39.38 done by David Nolan in 2015. Dressel’s splits were as follows:
- Fly- 21.03
- Back- 25.01
- Breast- 28.37
- Free- 23.72
Auburn freshman Hugo Gonzalez also had a big swim, tying the time it took to win NCAAs last season and dropping a second from the best time he set this morning. Florida’s reigning NCAA champ Mark Szaranek was also in the mix tonight, touching in 3rd ahead of teammate Jan Switkowski (1:41.89). The top 4 men all hit the NCAA ‘A’ cut. Texas A&M’s Brock Bonetti (1:42.32) nabbed another best time to take 5th, followed by Georgia’s Gunnar Bentz (1:43.94). A&M’s Austin Van Overdam dropped over a second from the B final to take 9th in 1:43.54, making him the 6th fastest man of the night.
Interesting that in the longer version of the interview, CD specifically says that neither Szarnek nor Switkowski have started to come down in yardage yet. Both looked pretty sharp here already, so that makes me excited to see what they can do at NC’s.
he also mentions how they crush him in practice ???
Mr. Dressel is a machine and I firmly believe he is the TRUE ?… LC and SC!
He’s got a long way to go before he passes Phelps.
SC Yards, yes. LCM he’s gonna have to keep performing like Budapest and get some individual Olympic Medals before he’s the ?
“I don’t know what I’m doing in the im”…oh Lord what’ll happen when he figures it out
BRADEN – PLEASE find and repost those links to the comment section where people were CRUSHING Caleb for choosing FLOR for college. I miss all those comments like “Troy will ruin Caleb”…”Florida/Troy can’t work with sprinters!”…”He’s making a HUGE mistake going to Florida”.
Congratulations to Caleb and the Gator coaching staff! COACH MIKE 1952 remembers when 1:38 was a fast 200 Free!!!!!
I think what actually happened is far less severe than what everyone remembers happening. I don’t see any “crushing,” I see polite skepticism, but it was definitely tame by sports standards. And that was far outweighed by comments saying they thought it was a good decision.
https://swimswam.com/1-recruit-class-2014-caeleb-dressel-commits-florida/
When he did take that “break”? I forget if it was the summer before his freshman year of college or after.
I feel like that, plus when he missed the A final of the 100 free at NCAAs that one time made people go sorta nuts.
He took the break after his senior HS season. Joined the track team and did pole vaulting, I believe.
“Nah you’re dreaming, A florida recruit can’t go that fast in sprinting. Out of your mind. Greg Troy can’t train sprints.” This was a sample and the one I remember the most. But you’re right, most were polite skepticism.
STEVE BETTS’ comment was spot on!
I think people thought he’d end up being a muscle head like Lochte, but he’s got the potential to be better than him at the world level, cause at the college level he’s borderline untouchable except by Schooling, who ya know is one of the best flyers in the world.
Great testimony to coach/athlete communication! Go Gators.
So great to see a guy of his elite caliber be able to appreciate swimming as an enjoyable, fun sport in and of itself. Too often I think swimmers (and swim fans!) get caught up in the times, places, records, etc. of the sport and forget that, at the end of the day, it’s about pushing yourself and having fun.
Exactly
Glad he is having fun
Seriously…the fact that he is having fun I think makes a pretty good case for some of the mind blowing swims we have yet to see over the next two years…I have a feeling 2019 and 2020 might makes us completely forget his 2017 Worlds performance.
ill have to load up on adult diapers for 2020 because each time dressel swims I risk peeing myself
He reminds me of what Michael Phelps was like in 2003
Caeleb needs to time trial a 200 free and break 1:30, and then a 100 breast and break 50. Gotta see more magic.