"It’d probably be controversial, people wanna call me 'baby' or 'puss' or whatever, I get it" - Caeleb Dressel on getting emotional at Paris Olympics

Paris Olympics was a rather forgettable affair for American swimmer Caeleb Dressel. Touted to be the next big thing after Michael Phelps, Dressel could barely manage to win three medals at the Paris Olympics, and all of them came from the relay events.

Dressel recently opened up on his emotional breakdown at the Paris Olympics. He was reduced to tears after being eliminated from the semifinals of the men's 100m butterfly event, where he was the defending champion. This was covered by NBC in detail, and it became a matter of controversy.

In an interview shared by SwimSwam News on their Instagram account, Dressel recounted what happened.

"This year, this is probably gonna be very controversial, but I think it’s important. I don’t want anyone to think different or feel sorry for me. There was a very rare moment at the trials [the pre World Championship trials in 2023] where the 50m freestyle semifinal could’ve been my last race of my career…"

Dressel further narrated how he almost quit swimming in 2023.

"There was, the trials was harder than I thought was gonna be. Then my wife thought it was gonna be, then my therapist thought it was gonna be. That was the first time I had put my boots on the ground... Yeah, you could've said it was the 2023 World trials [the trials for the World Championships 2023], but I was excited to do anything there..."

"It’d probably be controversial, people wanna call me 'baby' or 'puss' or whatever, I get it. I’m not designed to do this, and that’s just part of the sport.”

Dressel participated in four races at the Paris Olympics. He managed to win a silver in the 4x100m medley relay and a gold medal in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay at the quadrennial edition. He was also a part of the mixed medley team that won the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley race at the Paris Olympics.

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Caeleb Dressel's performance at the Paris Olympics

Caeleb Dressel with his silver medal from the men's 4x100m medley relay at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Before the Paris Olympics, Caeleb Dressel had a unique record to his name, something not even the likes of Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz could claim throughout their career. From the Rio Olympics to the Tokyo Olympics, Dressel had lost just one race: the men's 100m freestyle, where he ended up sixth.

At the Tokyo Olympics, the American swimmers took part in five events and won all of them. With five gold medals from the Tokyo Olympics and two gold medals from the Rio Olympics, Dressel was already the fifth most decorated Olympic swimmer of all time, ahead of even American swimmers like Ryan Lochte, Australian great Ian Thorpe, etc.

At the Paris Olympics, Dressel was all set to become the second most decorated swimmer of all time after Phelps. All he needed to do was win a minimum of three gold medals out of the five possible races. He began in style with a gold medal in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay.

However, in the individual races, Dressel fizzled out. He qualified for the finals of the men's 50m freestyle event but finished a disappointing sixth out of the eight swimmers competing in the finals. He clocked 21.61 seconds in the finals.

The next event was the men's 100m butterfly, where Dressel was the defending Olympic champion. The American qualified for the semifinals. However, his efforts were not enough, as he was ranked 13th overall, and thus he failed to qualify for the finals.

Caeleb Dressel then won a gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley event as well as a silver in the men's 4x100m medley relay. However, his dream to beat Mark Spitz in terms of the number of Olympic gold medals remained unfulfilled. With a total of 10 Olympic medals, including nine Olympic gold medals, Dressel is now the third most decorated Olympic swimmer of all time.