“He’s a tough one” - Caeleb Dressel on his father’s fight with terminal cancer

Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel is a rising star in the swimming pool. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he secured five golds and increased expectations for fans.

Five months ago, Dressel appeared on Graham Bensinger's talk show. During the conversation, he talked about his father's fight with terminal cancer and how he inspired him:

"He's a tough one! He doesn't complain."

---

Caeleb Dressel talks about how his dad dealt with cancer

On the talk show In-Depth with Graham Bensinger, Dressel was first asked how influenced he was by each of his parents. Initially, he said that both of his parents are his role models:

"I couldn't answer your question of 'who was an athlete that was like my role model?' because for me it was my parents."

Dressel talked about his mom's caring nature and how she still stands up for him,

"My mom's the most caring person I've ever met. She always puts people first. I mean, you can always count on Mom even until this day. If I were to call her right now and say mom you have to get up here, I promise you she'll be here in an hour."

Later on, Caeleb Dressel talked about his dad and the difference between his parents' personalities,

"Then my dad’s just very philosophical, protective over his inner circle! So my mom's definitely the social butterfly and my dad is not... like everyone else can kick rocks. But kind of his family and his inner circle, they work very, very well together but, yeah definitely, those two are my role models."

Talking about the Appalachian Trail which was on his dad's dream board. Caeleb Dressel said,

"He's done a good amount, from he started in Georgia and he's gone all the way up to West Virginia. But I did not hear him complain once on the trail. and this is coming from an ankle that has been busted from cancer he had. He's got a different man's ACL on his knee, he had an ACL replacement, didn't say a peep and he's hiking 10 miles a day with a bum ankle or a bum knee and he is enjoying his time out in the woods."

On the entire Trail, Dressel and his family were always running out of food and water. Caeleb Dressel is a swimmer and his diet is immense. Speaking about the issue, he jokingly said,

"Oh, that was the, that was the worst thing for me. It wasn't the like physical part, it was just, I was so hungry the whole time."

Caeleb Dressel and his siblings found out about their father's illness at a very young age. They were definitely scared and shocked after the revelation. But their father inspired them and all of them are in good places now.

Caeleb Dressel at the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Dressel might return to competition in a significant US World Championship trial event. He is reportedly ready to seize any chance to continue creating and breaking records during the Olympics.