Sports Illustrated - USA (2021-12-15)

the event for the first time in Olympic history. Swimming

in lane 1, the Americans responded with a world-record

effort of 3:26.78.

After the victory, physically and mentally spent, Dressel

leaned heavily on his relay teammates just to stay upright.

He finally acknowledged the weight of expectation that

he had lived with since it became clear he was the next

American Aquaman.

“There’s so much pressure in the moment,” he said.

“Your whole life boils down to a moment that will take

20, 40 seconds. How crazy is that? And it’s every four

years. I wouldn’t tell myself that during the meet, but it’s

terrifying. A lot of it boils down to a very precise moment

in the universe, and that just happens to be the Olympics.”

A PERFECTIONIST CHILD, DRESSEL USED TO

line his crayons up in precise formation, wanting them

all to be the exact same height. If he lost a Lego, he

despaired. In Tokyo, the crayons all lined up just right;

each Lego was in its place.

But there is life after the Olympics,

and it’s often not easy. Always an intense

competitor and an emotional person,

Dressel came home burned out. His real-

ization, his agent says: I need to breathe.

The acclaim and glory and increas-

ingly long list of sponsors were nice, of

course. Dressel took a Las Vegas trip

with Meghan, went on a cruise with his

parents and siblings, was honored at

a Florida football game. People named

him “Sexiest Olympian,” which was

probably his easiest victory of 2021.

But the mental toll of everything that

went into his Tokyo tour de force was

real. He had to disconnect for a while.

Part of his downtime was filled by

extending his lengthy tattoo collection.

Dressel began work on a full right-leg

sleeve that will be the yin to his left-

arm sleeve’s yang. Just the outlining

took 14 hours; next it will be filled in.

By Paris 2024, he will be a kaleidoscope

of color f lashing through the water.

Pushing himself, Dressel met

his obligations to compete in the

International Swim League (its sea-

son started just weeks after the Games

ended), but at home he decided it was

time for a change. After seven years

with Gregg Troy—first in college, then

as a postgrad—Dressel has changed coaches. He’s staying

in the same pool but moving over to current Gators coach

Anthony Nesty and sprint coach Steve Jungbluth. Dressel is

now the headliner of a powerhouse freestyle training group

that includes Florida undergrad Olympians Bobby Finke

and Kieran Smith, and recent arrival Katie Ledecky, the

distance legend who moved her base from Stanford.

Same but different. Changed by both the pursuit and

achievement of Olympic glory, Caeleb Dressel is doing

his best to stay in touch with the little perfectionist, pot-

bellied boy within.

95 SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR 2021

GOLD RUSH

Dressel celebrated

his first individual

gold, in the 100

freestyle (above),

before producing

his finest swim in

Tokyo, holding off

the defending champ

and breaking his

own world record in

the 100 butterf ly.

After his final victory, PHYSICALLY AND

MENTALLY SPENT, Dressel leaned heavily

on his relay teammates just to stay upright.

He finally acknowledged the weight of

expectation that he had lived with.

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