Caeleb Dressel wins the men’s 100m freestyle final in a new Olympic record as the US swimmer collects his second gold medal of the Tokyo Games
- Dressel nabbed his first individual Olympic gold with a time of 47.02 seconds
- He held off the defending Olympic champion, Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, with a furious sprint to the wall
- The Florida native beat Chalmers by a mere six-hundredths of a second, leaving the 2016 winner with a silver medal this time
- The bronze was claimed by Russia’s Kliment Kolesenikov
- It was the second Olympic gold medal of the Tokyo Games for Dressel – who earned his first after racing the first leg of the 4×100 free relay
- Find out the latest Tokyo Olympic news including schedule, medal table and results right here
Caeleb Dressel’s quest to dominate the pool continued on Thursday as he set a new Olympic record in the men’s 100m freestyle on his way to winning gold.
Dressel, 24, nabbed his first individual Olympic gold with a time of 47.02 seconds – after he held off the defending Olympic champion, Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, with a furious sprint to the wall.
The Florida native beat Chalmers by a mere six-hundredths of a second, leaving the 2016 winner with a silver medal this time. The bronze was claimed by Russia’s Kliment Kolesenikov.
It was the second Olympic gold medal of the Tokyo Games for Dressel – who earned his first after racing the first leg of the 4×100 free relay with his teammates on Monday.
Caeleb Dressel is a two-time Olympic champion after winning the men’s 100m freestyle
In coming days, Dressel is scheduled to swim in two more individual races and possibly multiple relays.
Dressel previously won two golds, both in group events, in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
During his event on Thursday, his wife Meghan joined his parents and friends at a watch party – who were seen ecstatically screaming after his incredible win.
Dressel fought back tears as he spoke with NBC News after clinching the gold medal.
‘It’s a really tough year, it’s really hard. So, to have the results show up, I mean — it really came together, so I’m happy,’ Dressel said.
He told his family and friends: ‘Love you guys, thank you.’
MORE TO FOLLOW