Caeleb Dressel Set for Return to Competition at Next Week’s Atlanta Classic; First Meet in 11 Months
For the first time since his withdrawal midway through last year’s World Championships, Caeleb Dressel is entered in a swim meet. Dressel is scheduled to race at the Atlanta Classic, which will take place May 12-14 at the McAuley Aquatic Pavilion in Atlanta. Swim Atlanta head coach Chris Davis confirmed to Swimming World that Dressel is entered, and with meet entries due Monday at 11:59 p.m., a psych sheet is likely forthcoming.
Dressel pulled out of Worlds after the 100 freestyle prelims with undisclosed health concerns, and 24 hours later, USA Swimming announced he was out for the meet. In a statement, USA Swimming said, “After conferring with Caeleb, his coaches and the medical staff, a decision has been made to withdraw him from the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Our priority is and will always be the health of our athletes and we will continue give Caeleb the assistance he needs to recover quickly.”
The 26-year-old, who swam for the University of Florida from 2014 through 2018 and still lives and trains in Gainesville, has been mostly quiet in the months since, but he posted about his status in early September on Instagram. In that post, he revealed that he had not competed since World Championships, and he hinted that the reasons for his hiatus were related to mental health. He said, “I know I can have swimming and happiness. I had them both at one point in my life and I’m working on it. If you need a break, take one.”
Prior to departing Budapest, Dressel won gold medals in the 400 free relay and 50 butterfly. At last year’s Olympics, he captured five gold medals, with individual wins in the 100 free, 100 fly and 50 free accompanying two relay victories. It’s unclear if he will attempt to qualify for his fourth consecutive World Championships this year, with the U.S. selection meet set for late June in Indianapolis.