Caeleb Dressel made it to the final of the 50-meter butterfly but again failed to qualify for the world championships, finishing third in the US nationals on Wednesday night.
Dressel touched the wall in 23.35 seconds in the non-Olympic event, which he won at the last two worlds in 2019 and 2022. He finished behind winner Michael Andrew (23.11) and runner-up Dare Rose (23.20).
Still, it was an encouraging performance from Dressel, who is swimming in her first major meet since taking a long layoff.
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Caeleb Dressel reacts after competing in the men’s 50 meter butterfly final on day two of the Phillips 66 National Championships at the Indiana University Natatorium on June 28, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
She has two more chances to make Team USA for next month’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, having also participated in the 100 fly and 50 freestyle.
Other prominent swimmers are pushing for Dressel to qualify for the team.
“That would be amazing,” said Ryan Murphy, who won the 200-meter backstroke on Wednesday. “He has quite a magnetic personality. He really helps everyone around him.”
Dressel finished 29th in the preliminaries of her first national event, the 100 free. It was an impressive performance from a guy who won five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
On the second night of nationals, the other winners were:
SEVEN-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL KATIE LEDECKY WINS 800M FREESTYLE AT US NATIONALS WITH A DOMINANT PERFORMANCE
Caeleb Dressel on the starting block before competing in the men’s 50m butterfly final on day two of the Phillips 66 National Championships at the Indiana University Natatorium on June 28, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
— Murphy recovered the men’s 200m with a time of 1 minute, 55.03 seconds to earn his fifth trip to the world championships. Second place for Fukuoka went to his Cal teammate Destin Leso in 1:55.63.
— Claire Weinstein stunned Katie Ledecky in the women’s 200 freestyle by two-hundredths of a second. The 16-year-old clocked 1:56.26, just ahead of Ledecky’s 1:55.28, and both earned a place on the world team.
— Lilly King maintained her dominance in the women’s breaststroke with a win in the 200m. She tapped in 2:20.95, besting Kate Douglass (2:21.22).
— Regan Smith earned her second victory of the championships in the women’s 200m backstroke, posting world-record pace in the first three laps before settling for a US Open record of 2:03.80. Smith added to her win in the 200 fly, while Rhyan White took second in 2:05.77.
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Caeleb Dressel prepares to compete in the men’s 100m freestyle final on day one of the Phillips 66 National Championships at the Indiana University Natatorium on June 27, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
— Luke Hobson edged out Olympic medalist Kieran Smith to win the men’s 200 freestyle in 1:45.63. Smith touched in 1:45.63.
– Matt Fallon took the men’s 200 breaststroke title in 2:07.71, with home favorite Josh Metheny (2:08.32) claiming second for the world.
— Gretchen Walsh bunted in 25:11 to take the women’s 50 fly, edging out Torri Huske in 25:33.
