Caeleb Dressel Clocks 48.30 100 Freestyle at Atlanta Classic (Men’s Roundup)
Last year’s Atlanta Classic marked the first meet in which Caeleb Dressel raced in almost a year, and since then, he has steadily progressed back toward top form as he aims to qualify for his third Olympic team next month. Once again swimming at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Dressel has posted his top 100 free time since 2022 in his final racing opportunity before Trials.
Dressel swam a time of 48.30 Thursday evening, going out in 23.26 and trailing Jorge Iga before showing off his scintillating back-half speed with a 25.04. Dressel’s time beat his previous season best of 48.40 from last month’s Pro Swim Series meet in San Antonio, and he is now the fourth-fastest American this year, behind Chris Guiliano, Matt King and Jack Alexy.
Among the three meets that comprise the USA Swimming Club Excellence Challenge, Dressel’s time held up as the top mark of the evening, although Alexy did swim a bit quicker in prelims at the Irvine meet with a time of 48.20. Alexy clocked 48.37 at night to finish just seven hundredths shy of Dressel’s mark.
In Atlanta, Iga came in second in 48.57, with Dressel’s fellow Florida Gators Macguire McDuff third (49.19) and Julian Smith fourth (49.55). The top-three in Irvine also included Andres Dupont Cabrera (49.33) and Henry McFadden (49.35) whileIn Austin, Shaine Casas clocked 49.00 to secure the win ahead of Santo Condorelli (49.22) and Camden Taylor (49.68).
Other events contested included the 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle.
100 Breaststroke
Evgenii Somov unleashed a time of 58.72 in the 100 breast prelims to annihilate his entry time of 1:00.83. The mark broke Russia’s national record, Anton Chupkov’s 58.83. Somov then clocked a winning mark of 59.34 in the final. However, he is unlikely to be able to race at the Paris Olympics, needing to earn neutral athlete status as a result of Russia’s ban from the Games.
The best chance for Michael Andrew to return to the U.S. Olympic team will come in the 100 breast, and he notched a quick time of 59.87 to win the event at the Irvine meet, with Daniel Roy taking second (1:00.64). In Atlanta, Somov was followed by Carles Coll Marti (1:00.39) and Miguel De Lara (1:00.69), while Nic Fink, fresh off a world title in this event in February, won in Austin with a time of 1:00.35, beating Jake Foster (1:00.88) and Will Licon (1:01.79).
200 Butterfly
Martin Espernberger, an Austrian swimmer who trains at the University of Tennessee, won his main event in 1:56.12, while Mason Laur came in second (1:57.10) and Jack Dahlgren touched third (1:58.19). Dare Rose, the World Championships bronze medalist in the 100 fly, led the way in Irvine with a time of 1:58.17, with Rose’s former Cal teammates Trenton Julian (1:58.50) and Colby Mefford (1:59.36) rounding out the top-three. In Austin, meanwhile, no swimmer broke 2:00, with Ryan Branon securing the top time at 2:01.43.
400 Freestyle
It was the Florida Gators show in the men’s 400 free in Atlanta, with Alfonso Mestre taking the win in 3:48.10 ahead of a pair of Olympic-medal-winning teammates. Kieran Smith, the bronze medalist in this event at the 2021 Games, touched out distance star Bobby Finke by one hundredth, 3:49.00 to 3:49.01. Rex Maurer was dominant in the Austin heat with a time of 3:50.25, and Henry McFadden won in Irvine (3:56.41).