“I'm not in this sport to go faster than Michael Phelps"- When Caeleb Dressel was tired of comparisons with Baltimore Bullet

American Olympian swimmer Caeleb Dressel is widely regarded as one of the most decorated American swimming athletes, alongside his compatriot, Michael Phelps. The two have represented the United States at the highest level for years and clinched several accolades. However, the former once shared his frustration over constantly being compared with Phelps.

Caeleb Dressel's dominance was witnessed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the United States participated in the competition without Phelps following his retirement. Dressel competed in six events, claiming gold in five of them (100m butterfly, 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay, and 50m freestyle).

When the two competed together at an Olympic event for the first time in 2016 in Rio, Phelps clinched five golds while Dressel earned two. The duo teamed up to lead the USA's 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay titles at the same Olympics.

Caeleb Dressel was regarded as the successor of Michael Phelps, especially due to the athleticism he put on display at the Rio Olympics. However, Dressel did not like being compared to Phelps and expressed his disappointment in the comparison ahead of his Tokyo Olympics participation. In 2021, he told AP (as quoted by Olympics.com)

"I don’t want to say I just brush it off, because I know it’s going to be inevitable, but that’s not why I’m in this sport... It’s not to beat Michael. It’s not to go faster than Michael [Phelps]."

Talking about the titles and the records, he further added:

"I’m not in this to beat anybody’s medal count or records. I just want to see how far I can take this."

Caeleb Dressel names his top three events for the Paris Olympics 2024

TYR Pro Swim Series San Antonio - Day 3

Caeleb Dressel took a break from swimming during the 2022 World Championships, citing medical reasons. The Green Cove Springs native made his comeback to swimming endeavors last year in May. Cut to 2024, and Dressel is preparing to participate in his third Olympic event, scheduled for Paris in July.

Dressel is currently preparing for Olympic trials and is currently targeting competing in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 100m butterfly. In an interview with Forbes in April, Dressel opened up about his plans for trials and the Olympics and said,

"Well, really, trial is the big one. I don't like to make any assumptions, so I'm really excited for trials, which is in the Colts Stadium. So really excited to see what the pool looks like in person, and then hopefully for 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly my three babies, we'll get up and boogie, and then we'll be good to go to for Paris," Dressel said.