"What a tough journey back"- Caeleb Dressel grateful after staging incredible comeback at U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials to qualify for Paris 2024

American competitive swimmer Caeleb Dressel recently expressed his gratitude after qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Courtesy of his impressive performances at the U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials, the 27-year-old Dressel will be making an appearance in his third Olympic Games in Paris.

Dressel, who was eyeing to make it to the USA team in three individual events for the 2024 Paris Olympics, competed in his first event in the men’s 100m freestyle at the trials. After placing third in both the overall heats and semifinals of the event, Dressel repeated his third-place finish in the finals of the 100m freestyle.

As a result, he missed out on the individual event spots in the discipline, with Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy securing first and second place in the finals, respectively. Notably, Alexy and Guiliano had also finished above the seven-time Olympic champion in the heats and semifinals, with the former touching the wall in 47.08s during the prelims to set a new U.S. Open record.

However, Dressel staged an incredible comeback in the U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials to make the individual men’s 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly teams. After the conclusion of the U.S. Swimming Olympic Team Trials, Dressel took to his Instagram to thank the crowd and his loved ones, stating:

“THANK YOU INDY ❤️ None of this is possible without my people. My family, my coaches, my teammates, my sponsors, my friends, and this crowd. What a tough journey back. We did it,” Dressel wrote in the caption.

On June 21, Caeleb Dressel qualified for his first individual event in Paris in the 50m freestyle, where he registered a time of 21.41 to top the field. He then went on to swim a sensational 50.19s in the finals of the 100m butterfly to secure his place in his second individual event.

Besides competing in 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly, the 15-time long course World champion will also swim the 4x100m freestyle relay event in Paris.

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A look into Caeleb Dressel’s previous Olympic campaigns

Caeleb Dressel poses with the gold medal for the Men's 100m Butterfly Final at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Caeleb Dressel made his first appearance at the 2016 Rio Olympics where he bagged 2 gold medals by being a member of the USA’s 4x100m freestyle and medley relay teams, although he only swam in the finals of the freestyle.

However, Dressel went on to showcase his dominance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he collected 5 gold medals, winning the individual 50m and 100m freestyle, and 100m butterfly events. He was also instrumental in helping the U.S. team in grabbing gold medals in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley events.