Curious Caeleb Dressel ‘Felt Like The Man’ As Bid To Break 20-Sec Barrier In Speedo LZR Racer Looms
Caeleb Dressel “felt like the man” when he donned a super-suit in fly training shortly before he headed to Budapest for season two of the ISL.
The 13-time world champion will attempt to break the 20-second barrier over short-course metres in the 50 free when he dons a Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer this coming Thursday 10 December.
The 24-year-old lowered his world 50 free record at the Duna Arena to 20.16, one of four global marks along with the 100 fly, 100IM and the 4×100 free with all four of the Cali Condors quartet hailing from the United States.
The Fastskin series was launched 20 years ago and ushered in the super-suit revolution that downed records the world over.
Photo Courtesy: MIKE LEWIS / ISL
There were 43 at the 2009 World Championships in Rome alone before FINA outlawed the suits from 1 January 2010.
Dressel was 13 when the ban was imposed and never experienced wearing them in competition.
Coach Gregg Troy said the suit “allowed athletes to expand what they thought was possible in the pool.
“It helped athletes know more about body position, controlling speed and the importance of a strong core.
“It broke through the glass ceilings over the sport.”
Troy at times uses the suits in training with Dressel having worn one for some swift fly racing in practice, the benefits clear.
Dressel told Swimming World:
“It feels good: there’s no way around it, it does feel good.
“You feel buoyant: the most important thing about swimming is that you want to be as high in the water as you possibly can. You’re high in the water, there’s less drag, you’re going to be faster. It’s just how it works.
“It felt good, I felt buoyant. I felt sweet. I felt like the man to be honest. It actually felt like it was a super-suit.”
Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu/ISL
There will be no world record should Caeleb Dressel dip below 20.16 regardless of whether he goes sub-20 or not given the suit is outlawed.
The two-time Olympic relay champion insists the emphasis on Thursday is about fun and seeing what he can do and wherever that may take him.
“It’s going to be a good time.
“I’m not trying to prove anything: I’m not trying to slap anybody in the face by saying look at me, look at what I can do.
“I just want to have a good time because I have no idea what I can go off the back of training.
“I just want to step up on the blocks with an iconic suit, the historic suit of the iconic brand that I work with and see where we can go.
“I just want it be fun. I just want to give a little buzz to the sport of swimming and end 2020 with a bang and hopefully I can swim it fast but I really don’t know, I don’t know what to expect.
“It’s not like I’m shaved; (I’m) coming down from a six-week series of meets like ISL with a little rest in there.
“So we’ll just see what I can go and I think it’ll be fun.
“It’s almost more fun that way: I don’t know maybe I’ll be under 20, maybe I won’t but I tell you what, I hope I have a good time doing it either way.”
Photo Courtesy: Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse
All the long-course world records in men’s freestyle bar the 1500m were set in 2009 with all the men’s relay marks dating from 2008/09.
Aso standing are the world records set by Michael Phelps in the 400IM at Beijing 2008 and Aaron Peirsol in the 200 back in Rome a year later.
All but two of the women’s WRs – the 200 free and 200 fly – have been consigned to history.
Dressel is quick to nod to those achievements, saying:
“I don’t want to undermine anything people have done in the suit which is the biggest thing I am adamant about doing this challenge.
“I don’t want to slap anyone in the face. The swimmer makes the suit, the suit does not make the swimmer.
“I want to see where I can go with the aid of the suit. I think it does offer a benefit, how much I’m really not sure.”
Advertising: Shop At Swim360
When C.D swam 17.63 (stroke count 8/11), he didn’t have/need the “suit tech” https://youtu.be/N0LCjQ89G58
That swim would be 16.99 in the suit
Well, he did not break the world record that would not have counted if he did because of the whole suit being banned thing.