"It's a little cherry on top" - Caeleb Dressel on 100m Butterfly win on his comeback at US Open Championship 2023
Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel made a refreshing comeback on Friday at the 2023 US Open Championships. After his 17-month-long mental health break, the swimmer returned with a glorious win in the men’s 100m butterfly in Greensboro, North Carolina.
On December 1, Caeled Dressel showed his impressive competitive spirit in the 100m butterfly heat. Competing amongst a bunch of strong swimmers, Caeleb Dressel attained the third spot. He clocked a 51:83s falling behind first-placed and second-placed Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun.
However, at the final event, Dressel impressed the sports world with his first-place finish. He left no stones unturned and clocked 51.31s this time. Whereas his competitors, Ilya Kharun and Josh Liendo achieved the second and third spot finishes. 51.32s and 51.42s were their respective timings.
After achieving his grand victory at the championship, Caeleb Dressel talked to NBC Sports and reflected on his comeback. The American swimmer said,
"Yeah I mean it's always exciting to see fast times. It's not something I need right now training's been going great. So it's a little cherry on top to see last night and tonight some pretty good times. So yeah, we're in a good spot, but I didn't really need to see anything training’s great, and groups are great. It's fun to be back."
When asked about how far training has helped him in his comeback journey, he said,
"I mean it's pretty much the halfway marker. When are in a really good spot throwing up sometimes."
Dressel expressed that he did not expect to see the results so fast. However, he was having a fun experience.
The reason why Caeleb Dressel took a mental health break
Caeleb Dressel made headlines last year due to his sudden withdrawal from the swimming world championships. Initially, the young swimmer cited medical issues as a reason for his decision. However, on the fifth day of the eight-day championship, he fully opted out of his name.
Previously, Caeleb Dressel had opened up about experiencing mental health struggles due to intense competition pressure. In April in 2022, his mother told SI.com about his journey during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
She revealed that Caeleb was under immense pressure at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She said that the world had high expectations from the swimmer due to Michael Phelps’s absence after four Olympics. Dressel had taken the spot of a star swimmer which put him in the highlight.
Although Caeleb Dressel managed to win five gold medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it had a grave effect on his mental health that impacted his swimming career ahead.