Two Florida swimmers and one incoming UF swimmer competed in the 100-meter freestyle on Wednesday for a chance to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Rio.
Caeleb Dressel, who broke NCAA and American records at the 2016 NCAA Championships, led the way for all Gator swimmers.
Finishing with a final time of 48.53 seconds, Dressel placed second in his semifinal event and will compete in the 100-meter freestyle final Thursday.
The Florida swimmer finished 0.62 seconds behind three-time Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian and third among all swimmers.
Along with Dressel, former UF swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Conor Dwyer finished third in his semifinal event.
With a final time of 49.18 seconds, Dwyer claimed the eighth and final spot in the 100-meter freestyle final.
Having already clinched a spot in both the 200- and 400-meter freestyle, Dwyer will look to punch his third ticket to the Summer Olympics tonight.
In addition to both current and former Florida swimmers, future Gator Maxime Rooney also competed in Wednesday night’s 100-meter freestyle semifinal.
Finishing his race in sixth in 49.26 seconds, the 18-year-old native from Livermore, California, came just under a tenth of a second short from advancing to the final round.
Eleven-time Olympic medalist and former Florida swimmer Ryan Lochte was originally scheduled to compete in Wednesday night’s 100-meter semifinals.
But after finishing sixth overall in his heat race earlier that morning, Lochte was scratched from the event with
As he prepares for tonight’s final round, Dressel will look to become the fourth different Gator swimmer to qualify for this year’s Olympics.
Coverage for Thursday's races begins at 7 on NBC.
Contact Sean Doty at @TheRealSeanDoty and follow him on Twitter sdoty@alligator.org.
Florida's Caeleb Dressel reacts after winning the 100-yard freestyle at the NCAA men's swimming and diving championships Saturday, March 26, 2016, in Atlanta. The initials on his face are in honor of a former teacher. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
