Caeleb Dressel's Block Malfunction: All about what happened with the seven-time Olympic gold medalist at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmont

Swimming fans witnessed an unusual incident at the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series after Caeleb Dressel experienced a block malfunction.

On March 8, Dressel competed in the men's 50m finals of the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois.

Dressel competed from the sight lane, registering the fastest time. At the race's conclusion, the scoreboard suddenly went black as the timing system failed to initiate.

Further, at the beginning of the race, Dressel's block broke under his feet as he pushed off. Although the seven-time Olympic medalist emerged earlier than he usually does, he soon regained control to achieve the victory.

The American clocked an impressive time of 21.84 seconds to leave behind Jack Alexy and Santo Condorelli, who clocked 21.86 and 21.89 seconds, respectively. Dressel recorded his best time in two years after swimming 21.99 seconds at the US Open last year.

As per the USA Swimming Rulebook, the backup stopwatches, which are operated by officials, determine the finish times and order if the digital timing system fails.

During the 50m finals, the swimmers from the final 'A' were given the opportunity to improve their timings in a re-swim. Although the timings were not counted in the official results, they will be significant for international swimmers aiming to secure a spot in the upcoming Paris Olympics.

While Dressel and Condorelli did not participate in the re-swim, Alexy swam .04s faster than his official result.

"There were a lot of things I shoved down and all came boiling up" - When Caeleb Dressel withdrew from the 2022 World Championships

Caeleb Dressel looks on after winning the Men's 100 Meter Butterfly Final at the Toyota US Open at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Caeleb Dressel abruptly withdrew from the 2022 World Swimming Championships after securing two gold medals in the 50m butterfly and 4x100 freestyle events, citing an undisclosed health issue.

During an interview with The New York Times, the American said:

"The easiest way to put it, my body kept score. There were a lot of things I shoved down and all came boiling up, so I didn’t really have a choice."