Gators' Dressel: 'I Want To Stay Hungry In This Sport'

Gators swimmer Caeleb Dressel is competing in his final NCAA Championships this week. (File photo: Michael Hickey/For UAA Communications)

Gators' Dressel: 'I Want To Stay Hungry In This Sport'

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Scott Carter

Florida senior Caeleb Dressel caps a record-breaking college career with a chance to further stamp his place as America's most electrifying sprinter at this week's NCAA Championships.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

MINNEAPOLIS – When you do what Caeleb Dressel has done, the attention grows. The expectations soar. The perception changes.

Fair or not, those are the facts you are dealt when knocking on the door of greatness so often.

The 21-year-old Dressel, competing in his final NCAA Championships here this week at the University of Minnesota's Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, is already considered a great in his chosen field.

52411 — Caeleb Dressel, center, can make NCAA history on Thursday with a win in the 50-yard freestyle.

Dressel owns six individual national titles and can tie and/or break former UF star and Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte's school-record of seven with a strong performance. He owns the top time in the nation in four events this season – the 50-yard free, 100 free, 100 breast and 200 individual medley.

Last month at Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference Championships, Dressel opted to change his routine by skipping the 50 free and competing in a pair of off-events – the 100 breast and 200 IM – and won conference titles by setting NCAA and American records in both events.

Everything he touches seems to turn to gold.

"I wanted to branch out and try to use my talent in places that I knew was there, but I guess other people didn't think I should be doing,'' he said. "If I didn't swim those events at that meet, I would have regretted it the rest of my life. I wanted to prove to myself that I don't want to be scared of any challenge. I could have fell flat on my face in that meet, but I would have taken the good out of it, learned from it and got ready for NCAAs."

Dressel's mastery has been on display for those in the swimming world since he began to blossom as a junior swimmer while growing up in Green Cove Springs, Fla., about an hour from UF's campus.

The world got a glimpse of it at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics when Dressel won a pair of gold medals in relay events, including the 400-meter free on a team with Ryan Held, Nathan Adrian and Olympic superstar Michael Phelps.

If the Olympics served as sort of an introduction for Dressel on the grandest international stage, then the 2017 FINA World Championships is where he announced he is one of the world's greatest Olympic athletes, an electrifying performer in the pool.

Dressel stole the show in Budapest by winning seven gold medals – tying the record Phelps set 10 years earlier – and became the first in history to win three golds at the World Championships in a single day. Dressel broke American records in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, as well as the 50-meter butterfly, and added a pair of world records in the mixed 400-meter free and mixed 400-meter medley relays.

Dressel's public profile changed forever with his performance in Budapest, but so did the outlook he has for himself.

"After Worlds, the only thing I was scared of after having a good meet was, 'dang, I've got to do it again. I've got to invite that pressure back because now the standard is here.' I know people have expectations for me, but I don't go by those rules. I want to keep doing better in the sport. I don't want to lower the bar on myself."

When Dressel returned to UF for his senior season, he refocused after his breakout performance that has many projecting him as the face of American swimming at the 2020 Olympics and perhaps beyond now that Phelps is retired.

52412 — Caeleb Dressel's parents, Christina and Michael, and younger sister Sherridon, a sophomore for UF's women's swim team, watch the Gators on Wednesday night at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. (Photos: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Dressel wanted to enjoy his final year with the Gators and continue to grow as a person through his studies and exposure to life on a vibrant college campus.

Those who know Dressel best say that is his character, someone who strives for more than what is in front of them.

"He is a driven guy,'' Gators associate head coach Anthony Nesty said. "He's a humble kid. He has a good group of seniors around him. He's got a good family and friends and coaches who support him and keep him grounded."

In his quest to live with a sharper focus, Dressel made some lifestyle changes to help. No more coming home from practice and laying down in bed and wasting a half-hour looking at Instagram. He deleted nearly all social media apps from his smart phone.

He wants to improve every facet of his life, not just what he does after jumping from the pool deck.

"I'm not getting 30 minutes of my life back,'' he said. "It's fun. It's like a puzzle. There is always room to improve everywhere in our lives."

Dressel committed to reading books more, learning about more subjects, and is currently in a self-help phase, digesting all he can from "The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness" by Jeff Olson, and the venerable classic "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey.

When he returned home from a splendid SEC Championships to help the Gators win the men's title for a sixth consecutive year, Dressel retreated to his family's 60 acres in Green Cove Springs to get outdoors and de-clutter.

When asked how his life has changed in his four years at Florida, Dressel pauses before answering.

"I don't know if it's necessarily changed just because of fast swimming,'' he said. "When I stepped foot on campus, it wasn't just to see how good of a swimmer I could become, I wanted to become a better person. That's why I chose to come here. If I can become a better man, that will make me a better swimmer."

Dressel's plan is working.

He can become the first male swimmer in NCAA history to win the 50-free national title all four seasons as a collegian on Thursday night. Dressel is the favorite, his 6-foot-2 frame and freakish speed unique even to those in the sport's shortest sprint race.

Dressel, who set the 50-free world record (18.20 seconds) at the 2016 NCAA Championships, is already considered among America's best sprinters in history, a group that includes names such as Phelps, Adrian, Gary Hall Jr. and Matt Biondi.

The Gators opened the meet on Wednesday night be finishing fourth in the 800-yard free relay. Dressel did not swim but is ready for Thursday.

"My last hurrah,'' he said of this week's meet. "It was intimidating [my freshman season]. I'm going up against college men, and here I am four years later. It goes by so quick. I'm glad I got all four years in."

Everyone should be. Dressel is a special talent. Once his college career is complete, he plans to continue living in Gainesville and training with Gators head coach Gregg Troy and his staff as he builds toward 2020 in Tokyo.

First, Dressel seeks to defend his national titles in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly. While Others can discuss his greatness or contemplate his place in the sport's landscape, Dressel is in the management business.

Managing his life to the best of his ability and staying sharp in the pool.

"The moment you start getting a big head and get complacent is the moment your downfall is going to be really hard and really fast,'' he said. "I want to stay hungry in this sport. I want to always find new ways to improve, and there's competition out there like never before.

"When there's a target on your back – not just mine, but our whole team – there's a lot of pressure. I think that pressure can bring out the best in you. You can either let it break you or learn how to deal with it and become a better person through it."

Dressel is winning.