World Champ Caeleb Dressel Bests Olympic Titlist Joseph Schooling in 100 Butterfly at ISCA Senior Cup
The Friday night session of the ISCA International Senior Cup had some international-podium flavor when it came to the 100-meter butterfly.
The 100 fly offered a clash between the reigning Olympic champion, Joseph Schooling, and Caeleb Dressel, the gold medalist at the past two editions of the World Championships. In this latest matchup, it was all Dressel, who touched the wall in 51.69 to claim victory by more than a second. Dressel, the world-record holder, was actually slightly behind Schooling at the 50-meter mark, 25.09 to 25.19, but Dressel was 1.34 seconds quicker on the way home.
Schooling earned runnerup honors in 52.93, a positive sign as he works to regain the form that made him an Olympic champion in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Another Olympian, Jack Conger, was third in 53.05.
Dressel returned to the pool later in the session and took third in the 200 freestyle, an event won by Alex Sobers in 1:48.35. Khader Baqlah was next in 1:48.62 while Dressel was timed in 1:49.26. Ryan Lochte was sixth in 1:51.87.
The meet is being held in a unique format that features short-course racing during preliminaries and long-course competition during finals. Lochte had the best swim of the prelims when he qualified for the 400 medley as the top seed behind a time of 3:40.42, which would have placed the 36-year-old in the final of the event at the NCAA Championships being held in Greensboro, North Carolina. He opted to scratch the event for the final, along with Dressel, who was the second seed following a 3:44.
How the 400 IM fits into Lochte’s plans for the upcoming summer, and particularly the United States Olympic Trials, is uncertain. The event is among the toughest grinds in the sport, and with Lochte in his mid-30s, it will be interesting to see if the four-time Olympian puts his body through the beating that would be endured.
Farida Osman continued her strong meet by winning the women’s 100 butterfly in 57.84.