JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Caeleb Dressel is heading back to the Olympics.
Dressel finished third in the 100-meter freestyle on Wednesday night at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis, qualifying for his third straight Games and continuining his medal quest.
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Chris Guiliano (47.38) and Jack Alexy (47.47) finished in front of Dressel (47.53), but the local product still earned a relay spot for the Paris Olympics by way of his third-place finish. Traditionally, the top four finishers in the trials in the 100 and 200 free events qualify for the Games to be apart of relay teams.
Dressel, a Clay High School product and seven-time Olympic gold medalist, had been away from serious competition since the 2022 world championships. Dressel has said publicly that he needed time away from swimming to recapture his love for the sport.
While Dressel won’t be able to win gold in the 100 free like he did in Tokyo in 2020, he still has a shot at qualifying in the 50 free and the 100 fly. Dressel and former Bolles star Ryan Murphy have both qualified for Paris. Murphy, a University of California graduate, won the 100 back on Monday night and will try and win the 200 back on Thursday. Murphy has the No. 2 time in the 200 back behind another Cal swimmer, Keaton Jones.