Dressel Becomes Third Fastest Swimmer Ever in 100m Fly History
Friday, July 28, 2017 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
Four Gators in total competed on FINA Day 6; Two competed in semi-final/final round
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Caeleb Dressel (USA) continued his hot streak on Friday, posting the fourth and fifth fastest times ever in the 100m fly and setting a new American record in the 50m free.
Dressel began his day in the 50m free, finishing second overall in the preliminary round with a time of 21.61, just .10 seconds off the leader. In the semi-final round, the rising senior blew the American record out of the water, swimming a 21.29 to earn the top seed in Saturday's final.
The American record was Dressel's fourth of the week and the swim was also the fastest in the world this year thus far.
Just 29 minutes after setting the American record, Dressel surpassed his preliminary time in the semis of the 100m fly, posting a 50.07 to become the third fastest swimmer in the history of the race.
His showing of 50.07 is the fastest textile time ever and ranks only behind Michael Phelps (49.82) and Milorad Cavic (49.95 and 50.01) for fastest all-time. Those times have held since 2009, but Dressel is the first to come the closest to breaking them.
With under an hour in between the races in the preliminary round, he finished the 100m fly in a clear first place, posting a time of 50.08. This time beat the field by over a second and qualified him for the afternoon semi-finals.
Jan Switkowski (Poland) also had a great showing in the 100m fly, finishing 13th in the preliminary round with a personal best time of 51.82. He finished 16th overall in the semi-final round after finishing with a time of 52.02.
The rising senior also helped his 4x200m free relay team into the final, swimming the anchor leg of 1:46.85 to put Poland in eighth place in the prelims. In the finals, Switkowski once again swam the anchor leg, posting a split of 1:49.20 to help Poland finish seventh.
Two other Gators swam on Friday, with Enzo Martinez-Scarpe (Uruguay) posting a time of 23.30 in the 50m free to place 59th overall and alum Conor Dwyer competing in the men's 4x200m free relay.
Dwyer raced the opening leg of the relay, posting a split of 1:47.77 to help Team USA move onto the finals Friday afternoon. He did not swim in the finals session for the team.
Day 7 prelims start Saturday, July 29 at 3:30 a.m. EST with the women's 50m free. Start lists can be found here and streaming can be found here.
Final Times:
Jan Switkowski – 4x200m free relay – 7:09.62 (7th place)
Semi Times:
Caeleb Dressel – 50m free – 21.26 (1st place)* - New American record
Caeleb Dressel – 100m fly – 50.07 (1st place)* - 4th fastest time in history
Jan Switkowski – 100m fly – 52.02 (16th place)
*Advances to final on Saturday
Preliminary Times:
Caeleb Dressel – 50m free – 21.61 (2nd place)*
Enzo Martinez-Scarpe – 50m free – 23.30 (59th place)
Caeleb Dressel – 100m fly – 50.08 (1st place)* - 5th fastest time in history
Jan Switkowski – 100m fly – 51.82 (13th place)*
Conor Dwyer (USA) – 4x200m free relay – 7:09.78^ (Did not swim in final)
Jan Switkowski (Poland) – 4x200m free relay – 7:10.53^
*Advances to semi-final
^Advances to final
Saturday, July 29 Schedule:
Morning session (prelims): men's 1500m (prelims), women's 50m free (prelims), men's 50m back (prelims), women's 50m breast (prelims), mixed 4x100m free relay (prelims)
Afternoon session: mixed 4x100m free relay (final), men's 50m free (final), women's 800m free (final), women's 200m back (final), men's 100m fly (final), women's 50m fly (final), women's 50m free (semi-finals), men's 50m back (semi-finals), women's 50m breast (semi-finals)
Players Mentioned
