Caeleb Dressel misses out on 100m fly final after 'heartbreaking' day at Paris Olympics

Caeleb Dressel’s Olympic journey is ending in a painful way. On Friday, the swimming superstar didn’t even final in his best event — the 100-meter butterfly.

Thirty minutes earlier, he finished sixth in the 50 freestyle. Dressel, the former Florida star, got out of the pool and hugged Dr. Katie Edenfield. Dressel was visibly upset as he sobbed on Edenfield’s shoulder. Edenfield is a doctor for Team USA and based at the University of Florida. NBC cameras lingered on the scene until Lindsay Mintenko, the Director of USA Swimming, moved Dressel to another area.

Meanwhile, swimming experts were trying to figure out what happened in the race. Dressel ended up 13th. Only the top eight make the final.

“It’s a shocking moment,” said NBC Olympic swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines. “We can’t believe it here, either. If you can’t believe it at home, we can’t either.”

Dressel told reporters: “It hasn’t been my best week. I don’t think I need to shy away from that.”

Caeleb Dressel was visibly emotional after not qualifying for the 100m freestyle final. pic.twitter.com/jv3mvKN2In

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 2, 2024

Caeleb Dressel still has a relay left before the Paris Olympics close out the swimming competition. But if he wins a medal in the mixed relay event, it’ll be a small consolation prize to one of the best swimmers in United States history.

Dressel started his week in Paris with a gold medal in the 4 X 100 freestyle relay. He anchored the US team. The victory gave him an eighth career gold medal. He won two golds in the 2016 Rio Games, both were as members of relay teams. Then at Tokyo in 2021, Dressel won five golds, including in the 50 and 100 freestyles and the 100 fly.

After the swim, Dressel told reporters “I’d like to be performing better, but I’m not. I trained to go faster than the times I’m going. I know that. So, yeah. It’s tough, a little heartbreaking. A little heartbreaking for sure.”

Dressel was one of the biggest stars of the Tokyo Games. But he took time off from the sport. Dressel always has been open about his struggles with depression. He was in a happy place coming into Paris. He and his wife brought August, their five-month-old son, to Paris so he could watch his dad win medals.

“It was really special — my son getting to watch me win a gold medal is everything,” Dressel told NBC last Saturday.

After that relay swim to open the meet, Caeleb Dressel didn’t race again until Thursday. He struggled to make the semifinals in the 50 free. But after another round of competition, he earned a spot in the finals. The same thing happened Friday afternoon, but this time, fortune wasn’t on his side.