Michael Phelps reacts to Caeleb Dressel doing his famous warm-up routine

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, recently responded warmly to fellow American swimmer Caeleb Dressel, who imitated Phelps' iconic arm slap stretches. Phelps and Dressel represented the United States team together at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they collectively won eight medals.

On Friday, November 22, Dressel posted a video on his Instagram story where he talked about his warmup routine before stepping up on the block. He demonstrated a big jump followed by Phelps' arm slaps before onto the block.

"This is going to be very individual for what y'all need. I'll walk you through some of the things I do to get the jitters out before I'm even stepping up on the block, so obviously everyone knows me for the big jump before I get on the block. You've seen Michael Phelps; I can do it as well," Dressel said in the video.

Reposting the video on his account Phelps, wrote:

"Arm slap looks good homie."

Still from Phelps' Instagram Story

Following an illustrious swimming career, the 'Baltimore Bullet' announced his retirement after a stellar performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he secured five gold medals and one silver medal.

Across his five Summer Games appearances, the 39-year-old boasted an extraordinary tally of 23 gold medals, three silver, and two bronzes.

Meanwhile, Dressel continued to make waves in the pool; over his three Olympic competitions, the 28-year-old has amassed nine gold medals and one silver. He earned his sole silver medal in the men's 4 x 100m medley relay at this year's Paris Olympics.

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"He's a better swimmer than me" - When Caeleb Dressel reflected on his comparisons with Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps and Caeleb Dressel at the Olympics (Source: Getty)

During a July 2021 interview with TODAY’s Craig Melvin, Caeleb Dressel expressed that his comparison to Michael Phelps is unfair to the legendary swimmer and emphasized that his aim is not to surpass Phelps' records in swimming.

"I don't think it's fair to Michael," Dressel said. "He's a better swimmer than me. I'm completely fine with saying that. That's not my goal in the sport, to beat Michael. I'm a very different athlete than Michael. He was at a whole other level."

"I'm fine if people want to compare me to him. I have some goals that I would like to accomplish to where I can consider myself to be great, and I don't have to compare myself to Michael to consider myself to be great," he added.

Caeleb Dressel and Michael Phelps are tied for the second-highest number of Olympic gold medal wins in history.