Caeleb Dressel makes no apologies for being "a little bit of a weirdo", with the American swimming sensation determined to tackle his Olympic mountain on his own terms.
A first individual gold for Dressel arrived on Thursday when he edged out Australian rival Kyle Chalmers in a rollicking final of the 100 metres freestyle.
After the race, Dressel was left tearful when he was connected to family at home on a video link provided by a US broadcaster, with his parents and wife Meghan back in Florida celebrating the victory.
Dressel believes he has to cut down such contact to a minimum in Games time. He is a four-time gold medallist now, after two relay triumphs in Rio five years ago and another in Tokyo preceded his solo swim to glory.
For the 24-year-old, what matters most at these times is finding and maintaining race focus.
"I don't talk to many people at these meets. I'm kind of a loner, a little bit of a weirdo," Dressel said.
And that's why Meghan has to get by without a guaranteed daily call home from Japan.
"You have to manage your emotions. I can't be calling them every night because I cry a lot," Dressel said. "I'm an emotional person. I can't be calling them and exerting that energy. It's got to be put into my swimming."
It seems to be so far, so good on that front, with an Olympic record of 47.02 seconds bagged on Thursday and the prospect of more medals to come.
Dressel was widely expected to be a major star of Tokyo 2020 and is handling the stress of that situation, albeit if beneath the surface there is a constant battle to direct his energy.
"I'm pretty good at putting a face on," Dressel said. "Pressure's fine; it's when you turn it into stress, that's when it becomes a problem.
"My first couple of swims, I was turning the pressure into stress. I feel like the semi-final of the 100m free and that final there, I was starting to find my groove a little bit, and it's about time to be honest.
"I know my name's thrown out there and i understand it. I could care less about it, it's just something that comes with the sport when you're on top of the podium."
Dressel has gone silent on Instagram, deliberately staying away from social media, again saying that is "energy I don't need to be exerting".
And he was thrilled by how he swam against Chalmers, saying he "wouldn't have changed a thing about that race", even though it was practically a photo finish.
Chalmers, sharing a news conference podium with Dressel, said: "There's nothing I could have done more.
"It's been talked up as more than a swimming race for a while now. Caeleb and I have a fairly fierce rivalry.
"We do enjoy racing against each other and bring the best out in each other, so it's almost a relief to get it done now."
Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott named in Team GB swimming squad for Paris Olympics
Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott have been included in Team GB’s 33-strong swimming squad for this summer’s Olympics.
Peaty secured his spot at Paris 2024 at the British Championships earlier this month and will be gunning for a third successive gold medal in his signature men’s 100 metres breaststroke event.
He set the fastest time for 2024 in the discipline at the British trials after a turbulent past couple of years in which he has struggled with injuries and a much-publicised battle with his mental health.
“I’m thrilled to have made my third Olympic team,” Peaty said. “It’s always amazing to be part of Team GB, but with it being so close to home in Paris this summer, and us having more home fans there supporting us, it’s even more exciting.”
Scott, who became the first Briton to win four medals at a single Games at Tokyo 2020, also booked his passage by winning the men’s 200m individual medley and finishing as runner-up to Matt Richards in the men’s 100m and 200m freestyle events in London a couple of weeks ago.
Richards aims to break Scott’s record and become the first Briton to win five medals at one Games and has been chosen, as has Tom Dean although the double Olympic champion will almost certainly not defend the men’s 200m freestyle title he won in Tokyo after failing to get a top-two spot in the British trials.
Freya Colbert and Oliver Morgan are among 10 swimmers who will make their Olympic debuts, while Freya Anderson has been selected despite missing out on automatic qualification after contracting glandular fever at the start of the year.
Team GB won a record eight medals in the pool in Tokyo, surpassing their previous best of seven from the 1908 Games.
“Team GB has a proud tradition in Olympic swimming competitions, and I am delighted to welcome all 33 athletes to the team for Paris 2024,” said Team GB chef de mission Mark England.
“The strength and depth of our pool swimming team was evident to see at the recent Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, and along with the 10 swimmers making their debut for Team GB it is fantastic to welcome back seven Olympic Champions and nine Olympic medallists.
“I have no doubt the thrilling races we saw at the British Championships last week will be equally close fought.”
Alert, Barrett continue to bask in Carifta Swim Champs accomplishments; praise team effort
The 37th Carifta Swimming Championships has come and gone, but the experience of representing one's country on one of the biggest stages in the region has left an indelible mark on the younger participants, in particular, to the point where they continue to revel in their accomplishments.
Jamaica's Kia Alert and Noland Barrett are two such swimmers, who though not new to national representation, basked in the fact that they rose to the occasion and displayed their immense potential with standout performances that assisted the country to its 45-medal tally, including 18 gold, 12 silver and 15 bronze.
The 27-member Jamaican team also placed fourth on the points standing with combined total of 559 points, behind host The Bahamas (1,096.50 points), who secured an unprecedented sixth-straight Carifta Swimming Championship victory. Cayman Islands (660 points), Trinidad and Tobago (639 points), and Barbados (486.50 points) were the other top five teams.
Alert, who competed in the girls’ 11-12 division, relished her second outing at the championship, as she earned most points for Jamaica. She copped gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, the 50m and 100m freestyle, as well as in the 50m butterfly, and those were complemented by silver in the 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley (IM).
“I really felt like I was prepared enough to do really well, and I was excited just to put the hours of hard work on display, so I was really happy and proud hearing the National anthem after I won, knowing that all the hard work paid off,” Alert said.
“I also felt good about my other performances because I know I tried my hardest even on the third day when I had the 200m IM, 100m breast and 50m free, I tried my hardest and succeeded so I am really grateful that I came out healthy,” she added.
While delighted with her personal haul, Alert praised her teammates, Christanya Shirley and others, who in a consistent show of spirit and talent, also contributed significantly to Jamaica’s medal haul. That togetherness and pride she said is what swimmers count on to keep going, especially when things don’t go as expected in the pool.
“Team Jamaica’s performances deserve tremendous commendation. After a slow start, each member of the team gave their best and everyone contributed to our total points tally. For each day of the competitions there were several personal best performances seen, so even if swimmers did not medal, they did well enough to achieve PBs and that’s enough to be proud of,” Alert reasoned.
Meanwhile, the overseas-based Barrett, who had a credible outing at CCCAN last year, was making his debut at the Carifta Swimming Championships and contested finals in most of his events in the boys’ 13-14 category. He won gold in the 100m, 200m and the 400m freestyle events.
“Going into the Carifta Games I was excited to not only see my teammates I haven't seen in a while, but more importantly, to perform very well. I had a lot of fun being there and also dropping a lot of times and securing personal best, and while hearing the national anthem, I was proud that I was representing my country,” Barrett shared.
“So, I was really satisfied with my performances, I am more excited about the 400m free where I ended up dropping 11 seconds and I was really proud of how much I was able to accomplish on my first year and knowing that I have next year to do even better,” he noted.
Barrett contested the 13-14 age group alongside, Matthew Kennedy, Kai Radcliffe and others, who also produced credible performances.
Kennedy mined bronze in the 100m and 200m freestyle to go with his other top eight finishes, while Radcliffe, known for his breaststroke prowess, secured gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, and silver in the 200m breaststroke.
Radcliffe also flirted with the 50m breaststroke national age group record of 30.94s held by Kito Campbell, with his 30.98s-clocking.
Like Alert, Barrett, 14, pointed out that the team spirit was based on pride, passion and performance.
“I am proud of the team's performance, and I believe every athlete should be celebrated for their effort. All the coaches who prepared the swimmers for qualification and the championship should be proud of how they performed. We all stood strong, performed strong and gave out best to achieve what we did for Jamaica,” Barrett ended.
Swim coach Farmer eyes improvements for Barbados to make bigger splash at regional meet
While celebrating their fairly successful outing at the recently concluded Carifta Swimming Championships, Barbados Head coach Dave Farmer believes there is still much more to be done to improve their aquatic prowess.
Farmer, who admitted that the 23-member team which travelled to the Bahamas was undersized, lauded their efforts, as they bagged 37 medals, inclusive of 15 gold, 15 silver and seven bronze. Though their tally was two medals better than it was last year, they finished one spot lower in fifth position behind powerhouses The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica.
“I thought we did a very good job. The team really performed well. We exceeded our medal count from previous years, we had 37 medals in total which is a good achievement for us, so the team performed very well, and everyone gave of their best,” Farmer told journalists moments after the team arrived home on Thursday.
“They did quite well last year, they just had two more medals this year, but the team has been working hard. Some of our swimmers have been training for this event since September, October last year. Obviously, they had competitions in between but their main goal was to perform well at Carifta.
“This means we could have a bright future but obviously it means a lot of our age group swimmers need to step up to the plate because there is a lot of work that needs to be done. We had a 23-member squad, but a full team is in excess of 36, so we are still lacking in some categories, and we need to get those gaps filled,” he added.
Barbados was led by the impressive Heidi Stoute, who broke four CARIFTA records in the girls’ 13-14 division on her way to amassing six individual gold medals, along with three relay golds and one silver. Her performance earned her the Federation international de natation (FINA) High Point Award.
Stoute said she was pleased with her accomplishments at the Championships.
“I’m very happy with my performance to bring home these medals for Barbados, not just for myself. I would like to thank everybody who is involved in getting us there…I really do appreciate it and I’m sure the whole team does. We did very well and I’m very happy with what we brought home. The competition was good, it definitely pushed me, but it was fun, and I definitely enjoyed it," Stoute shared.
The outstanding swimmer's next assignment will be the CCCAN, scheduled for June in Mexico.
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