American fans hit out at ‘washed up’ Caeleb Dressel as swimmer endures nightmare day at the Olympics

Team USA fans made their feelings known about Caeleb Dressel’s dreadful performance at the Olympics, as many claim that the decorated swimmer is now ‘washed up.’

A long day of swimming was marked with Dressel finishing 13th in the men’s 100m butterfly semifinal with a time of 51.57. His performance in the event on Friday is a significant downgrade from his world-record time of 49.45 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

With an uncharacteristic finish, users took to social media to express their frustration with his decline.

‘Caleb dressel get your head in the game man lochte and phelps are watching rn,’ one user wrote. 

‘It’s tough watching Caleb Dressel swim and realize in real time that one of the greats just doesn’t have it like he used to,’ another added.

The eight-time Olympic gold medalist has not won a medal in individual races in Paris 

More fans reacted by pointing out how ‘washed’ the American is as the adjective was repeatedly used in tweets addressing his loss.  

‘Dressel washed hurts to see,’ said a third user, while a fourth insisted ‘Caeleb Dressel is so washed wtf…’  

‘Dressel is washed. This whole swim team needs a overhaul,’ a fifth suggested. 

Before his 13th-place finish, Dressel went sixth in the men’s 50m freestyle final. He also swam in the mixed 4 100m medley relay semifinal – where his team finished first – and the men’s 100m butterfly quarterfinal, where he placed sixth to advance.

Dressel anchored Team USA toward a gold medal finish in the men’s 4×100 relay on Saturday 

After scoring five golds at the Tokyo Games, Dressel has been underwhelming this year 

Fans took to social media to express their feelings over his regression 

His subpar individual performances come after Dressel anchored the Americans in the men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay to secure gold to start their campaign. 

Dressel’s regression began showing on Thursday when he finished 13th in the men’s 50m freestyle quarterfinal. However, he finished fifth in the semis before his losing effort in the final.

The Green Cove Spring, Florida native won five golds in Tokyo and two in Rio de Janeiro. However, that may have proved to be his peak as his campaign in Paris has been marred with heartbreak.