Caeleb Dressel took two big punches to the gut on Friday.
The 27-year-old Florida native finished sixth in the 50-meter freestyle final and then even failed to qualify for the finals in the 100-meter butterfly after winning gold in both events three years ago in Tokyo.
“It’s a shocking moment for a lot of you watching at home. We can’t believe it either,” NBC analyst Rowdy Gaines said on the broadcast.
After finishing both events, Dressel could be seen in tears off to the side of the pool, hugging a member of Team USA’s swimming staff.
Dressel was unable to defend his gold medal in the men’s 50-meter freestyle final on Friday afternoon and finished in a disappointing sixth place.
Known for his strong starts, Dressel didn’t come off the block in his usual fashion in the splash and dash, and quickly fell behind Aussie Cameron McEvoy, who won gold with a time of 21.25 seconds.
Silver belongs to Benjamin Proud of Great Britain (21.30) and bronze with Frechman Florent Manaudou (21.56).
Dressel finished in 21.61 seconds — just 0.05 behind Manaudou.
Not long after, the seven-time Olympic gold medalist found himself out of contention for a medal in the men’s 100-meter butterfly, placing 13th out of 16 in the semifinal round.
His time in the preliminary heats was a 50.83, which would have put Dressel into the final, as the slowest time to qualify was 51.08. However, in the semis he came in at 51.57.
“It was very obviously not my best work,” Dressel said. “It hasn’t been my best week. I don’t think I need to shy away from that. But the racing has been really fun here. Walking out for the the 50 and the 100 fly, it was special. I don’t want to ever forget that. I’d like to be quicker, obviously. Not my week.”
Dressel previously won a gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay in Paris and has a chance to swim in the finals of the 4×100 mixed medley relay and men’s 4×100 medley relay in the final two days of swimming competition.
Since Tokyo, Dressel took time away from the sport after he withdrew during the 2022 World Championships because of medical reasons.
He took a break for eight months before returning to the pool in May 2023, which was only over a month before the 2023 U.S. Summer Nationals.
