Seven-time Olympic Gold Medalist Caeleb Dressel, an Omega brand ambassador, talks about mental health, the Paris games and more.
It was only 100 meters. It took less than 50 seconds, 47.02 to be exact. But it changed everything. When Caeleb Dressel touched the wall six-tenths of a second ahead of Kyle Chalmers, the decorated Australian swimmer, in the 100-meter freestyle at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, he solidified his place at the apex of the sport.
“There’s nothing there,” he says, closing his eyes. “It’s the quietest place in the world. Once I hear, ‘take your mark,’ everything fades out, everything just goes away.” It takes everything. It takes an obsession. It takes every bit of you, every ounce of you to just qualify for the Games.”Three years later, he still finds it difficult to watch the replay of the Tokyo race or the medal ceremony and post-race interviews with his ecstatic family.
He’s been seeing a therapist at least once a week for the last two years and also limits his social media engagement, resisting the temptation to doom scroll on his Instagram account, where he has 630,000 followers. “I throw up a post and then get the heck out of there. Russia, meanwhile, has been caught operating a long-running, state-sponsored doping scheme that has resulted in the rescinding of 48 Olympic medals. In 2019, WADA banned the Russian federation from all major sporting events, but the toothless punishment allowed athletes to compete under a neutral flag. And in 2020, the international Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the ban to two years after Russia mounted an appeal.
“People seek him out for advice. At this point in his career he’s been there, seen it all, and to have him around our athletes in that capacity, it’s a big plus for our program,” Nesty says. “The reason we get paid is for performance, but he’s the perfect package. He’s a good kid, he comes from a good family, he’s got a great character, and he’s of course a great athlete. He goes above and beyond to help the person next to him.
Polo Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater and Speedo brief in nylon and Lycra XTRA LIFE fiber. Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon watch in 44.25mm.“No one really tunes in except every four years,” Dessel concedes. “That’s just part of the sport.” Dressel has the sun-kissed good looks and straight-arrow persona that lends itself to a certain caliber of brand endorsements. In person, he is deferential and polite, peppering conversations with “yes ma’am” and “yes, sir.” Even the copious amount of tattoo ink covering his left arm and right leg has a wholesome vibe: a bald eagle, an alligator , the black bear native to his home state, an American flag and, on his right forearm, the Olympic rings.
Nevertheless, in high school he joined the prestigious Bolles School Sharks swimming club in Jacksonville, although he attended the public high school near his home in Green Cove Springs, Fla., a picturesque suburb on the St. Johns River, about 45 minutes south of Jacksonville. He’s also learned how to be more comfortable in his own skin and enjoy his time away from the pool. He and Meghan live on a farm in Micanopy, Fla., south of Gainesville and a little over an hour from where he grew up. They have five cows and eight chickens . The latter provide him with his breakfast: five or six eggs, over medium. Dressel extols Meghan’s cooking: “She’s past the point of me calling her a good cook, she’s an excellent chef.
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