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Caeleb Dressel and Meghan Haila
Caeleb Dressel may be halfway to becoming a married man when he steps up for action at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: an image, a heart and a ring posted today on the Instagram account of the ace sprinter’s girlfriend Meghan Haila appear to confirm that Caeleb has popped the question.
Haila’s lovely picture, posted during Thanksgiving break, is a romantic snap of the pair, Caeleb on one knee, at Shands Pier on the St. Johns River in Florida. The post has caught a wave of love, more than 4,000 people, including many leading swimmers, having sent best wishes to the couple at the time of posting this article.
Dressel is on a trajectory to become one of the stars of the swimming showcase at the Olympic Games next July in Tokyo. Since claiming two golds in relays at Rio 2016, Dressel, coached by Gregg Troy, has claimed seven solo and six relay World long-course titles, claiming gold in the 50 and 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly in 2017 and then retaining all those and adding the 50m butterfly crown in 2019.
On the clock, Dressel has already gone down in history as the first man inside 50sec over 100m butterfly in a textile suit and is the swiftest man ever over 50 and 100m freestyle in textile, on 21.04 and 46.96 respectively, both times national records set at the World Championships. Over 100m butterfly at the global gathering in Gwangju, Korea, last July, he took down the 49.82 world standard held by fellow American Michael Phelps since 2009 with a jaw-dropping 49.50.
Coach Troy is famous for saying, wry smile on face, that he prefers his charges to steer clear of relationships if they’re a distraction to focus in pool and gym. Dressel’s results would seem to prove Troy has nothing to worry about. Even so, highly likely that the sound of wedding bells will wait until after the Tokyo Games.
Meghan Haila has been dating Dressel since the couple were teenagers. She knows her swimming. She raced for Florida State University and competed at the 2015 ACC Championships in the 200 IM, 100 and 200 breaststroke. While in high school, she was a two-time state champion in the 100 breast and All-American for Creekside High School. She was also a four-time finalist in the 100 breast at the state meet while in high school.
When asked whether it had been “exciting, nerve racking” to watch Dressel race at Rio 2016, Haila told Odyssey Online:
“Yes and yes! Watching him swim on the most coveted stage in our sport was incredible. Definitely nerve-wracking, but way more exciting than anything else. Trials, however, was a different story. I wanted to puke at all times in Omaha, haha. But really. I think because he had already made it there and earned the right to call himself an Olympian forever, made Rio a lot less stressful and much more fun and exciting.”
Meghan Haila and her giant sprinter of boyfriend on a Speedo mega poster – Photo Courtesy: Meghan Haila/Speedo
Her “coolest” memory of Rio was “watching the men’s 4×100 free relay take their victory lap around the pool with their medals, and Caeleb carrying the flag. That moment meant so much more than just a gold medal, but it represented everything it took for him to get to that point and all the obstacles he has overcome over the years. He is so proud to be an American and represent his country. It was so special to witness that moment and it was truly unforgettable.”
Asked to recall her favourite dates with Dressel, Haila said: “One of our most memorable dates was a couple summers ago when we went surfing in St. Augustine.
“We spent the whole day on the water and the clouds started rolling in mid-afternoon … Of course, both of us were too stubborn to get out of the water so we stayed out. Out of nowhere, I started freaking out because I saw a fin that was definitely not a dolphin. Caeleb thought I was messing with him until he shot me the craziest look. To this day he swears he took a stroke and pet the freaking shark.”
“Both of us just make time for each other whenever we can and we’ve made it work for two years now being across state. I think because we’ve had to deal with distance, it’s made us stronger as a couple.”
