Triple Crown: Dressel First to Win 3 Golds in One Day at World Championships
Saturday, July 29, 2017 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
Three Gators race overall; Dressel swims second fastest time ever in 100m fly
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Caeleb Dressel (USA) led the way for the Gators on Saturday, becoming the first person to win three gold medals in one day at either Worlds or the Olympics. All three golds were won in the matter of an hour and a half.
He took home two individual golds in the 50m free and 100m fly and finished with a relay gold in the 4x100m free relay.
Dressel kicked off his day on a high note and did not let the energy falter. He started by winning gold in the 50m free race after besting his own American record time. The rising senior set the new American record yesterday at 21.29, but went even faster on Saturday, posting a 21.15.
The mark of 21.15 is the fastest in textile history and puts him as the third fastest performer of all time in the race. The gold medal in the 50m free was the USA's first in this event since 2007.
Just about a half hour later, Dressel earned his second gold of the day after swimming a 49.86, the second fastest time in the history of the event. That is only .04 seconds off Michael Phelps' world record, set in 2009. He became the first man to win both the 100m free and 100m fly at the Championships.
Dressel took home his third gold medal of the day, winning the 4x100m free relay with a new world record of 3:19.60, splitting 47.22 which is .01 off his own American record in the event. Dressel becomes the first person to win three gold medals in one day in either Worlds or Olympic competition. He has six gold medals through the week thus far.
Gator alum Hilda Luthersdottir (Iceland) earned a spot in the 50m breast semi-finals after finishing 11th overall with a time of 30.88. She improved upon his prelim time in the semi-final round, swimming a 30.71 to put her 10th overall.
Khader Baqlah placed 15th with Team Jordan in the 4x100m free relay, posting a time of 3:40.31. The rising sophomore kicked off the first leg, posting the fastest split of his team at 49.46.
The final day of competition starts Sunday, July 30 at 3:30 a.m. EST with the women's 400m IM. Start lists can be found here and streaming can be found here.
Final Times:
Caeleb Dressel – 50m free – 21.15^* – 6th fastest time ever
Caeleb Dressel – 100m fly – 49.86^ -- 2nd fastest time ever
Caeleb Dressel – 4x100m free relay – 3:19.60^*&
^Denotes Gold Medal
*Denotes American record
&Denotes World record
Semi Times:
Hilda Luthersdottir – 50m breast – 30.71 (10th place)
Preliminary Times:
Hilda Luthersdottir – 50m breast – 30.88 (11th place)*
Khader Baqlah – 4x100m free relay – 3:40.31 (15th place)
*Advances to semis
Sunday, July 30 Schedule:
Morning session (prelims): women's 50m free, men's 50m back, women's 50m breast, mixed 4x100m free relay, men's 1500m free
Afternoon session: women's 50m fly (final), men's 50m free *(final), women's 200m back (final), women's 50m breast (semis), men's 100m fly (final), women's 50m free (semis), men's 50m back (semis), women's 800m free (final), mixed 4x100m free relay (final)
Players Mentioned
