Caeleb Dressel Blasts 48.00 in 100 Freestyle at Atlanta Classic
The last day of men’s prelims at the Atlanta Classic set the stage for an evening of final tuneups ahead of next month’s United States Olympic Trials in Omaha. Some of the leading names in the sport will be in action during the evening session, looking to fine-tune their preparation for the chase of Tokyo invitations.
The undisputed biggest performance of the morning came from Caeleb Dressel, the two-time defending world champion in the 100 freestyle. Racing that event, Dressel stopped the clock in 48.00, a stellar performance considering Dressel remains in the middle of training leading into the biggest summer of his career.
Chase Kalisz, who won the 400 individual medley earlier in the meet and registered a strong showing in the 200 butterfly, claimed the top seed in the 200 medley after a morning performance of 1:59.59. He will be joined in the final by Kieran Smith (2:00.51), Trenton Julian (2:01.21), Ryan Lochte (2:01.28) and Andrew Seliskar (2:01.63), making for an intriguing race.
Coming off a victory in the 100 backstroke in which he dipped under the 53-second barrier, Ryan Murphy cruised through prelims of the 200 back in 2:01.91, good for only eighth, but with much more to come in the final. The top qualifier was Clark Beach, who stopped the clock in 2:00.53.