The International Swim League hosted their second semifinal meet on Nov. 15-16 in Budapest, Hungary. Former Gator Caeleb Dressel dominated the field, setting one World Record and two American records during Monday’s competition.
Dressel came close to topping his own World Record in the 50-meter freestyle, missing the time by just .04 seconds on Sunday. Monday was a completely different story, though.
Dressel started out the second day of the semifinal by breaking his own American Record in the 100-meter free. He finished the race in 45.20, .02 seconds faster than his time set just one week ago in the ISL’s final regular season meet.
Next came the World Record.
Dressel set the new World Record in the 100-meter individual medley with a time of 49.88. He became the first swimmer to complete the race in under 50 seconds. The previous record-holder, Russian swimmer Vladimir Morozov, finished the race in 50.26 in 2018. Fellow Gator alumnus Ryan Lochte was the last American to hold the World Record at 50.71.
In his third race of the day, Dressel snatched another American Record, this time in the 50-meter butterfly. Defeating his own record again by .02 seconds, he set the new standard with a time of 22.04.
All three records were broken within just one hour of competition.
To Florida fans, Dressel’s record-breaking tear should not come as a surprise. Dressel swam for the Gators from 2014 through 2018. Throughout his time at UF, the Olympian gathered up 10 NCAA Championship wins as well as 28 All-American selections, both accolades the most for any male swimmer in UF’s history.
As a senior, Dressel became the first person to touch the wall in under 18 seconds in the 50-yard free. He was also the first person to break 40 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle. He did both at the 2018 NCAA Championships.
Dressel will be back in action in the ISL’s final set to be held on Nov. 21-22.
Contact Sara Kate Dyson at skatedyson@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @sarakatedyson.
