Caeleb Dressel No-Shows 200 Free on Wednesday Morning at US Trials

2022 U.S. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

• April 26-30, 2022
• Greensboro, NC
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• Start Times: Prelims – 9 am ET / Finals – 6 pm ET
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American superstar swimmer Caeleb Dressel was a no-show for prelims of the 200 free on Wednesday, leaving an empty lane in a late heat of the race.

He was one of three no-shows from later heats of the race, along with NC State’s Luke Miller and SwimMAC Carolina’s Baylor Nelson, but of the three, Dressel’s swim was the most-anticipated.

Blake Pieroni recently had knee surgery, and Townley Haas and Andrew Seliskar each retired recently, which leaves the U.S. with a bit of a gap in this race as they chase the Brits and their pair of 1:44 flat-starts. The U.S. didn’t medal in this race at last summer’s Olympic Games, finishing in 4th place. That marked the first time that the American 800 free relay finished off the Olympic podium in history.

The Russian ban from the World Championships makes a medal this summer in Budapest likely, and absences from Australia make even silver possible. But the most realistic way for the U.S. to chase gold would have been a full-strength Dressel living up to the 200 free that everyone hopes he has in him, but that he’s never really proven he has.

Dressel didn’t swim this relay at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, where the final came after the final of the 100 free. Given his form in Tokyo, and a 1:47 from Zach Apple there, Dressel would have likely closed the six-tenths of a second gap to the Australians and Russians, even if he’s not a full-blown hammer in the event. He did swim it in prelims at the US Olympic Trials, marking 1:46.63 before scratching the semifinals.

Him swimming the relay at the 2022 World Championships would have been a longer shot. The finals of the 800 free relay comes in the same session as the semi-finals of the 50 free and 100 fly, and after some ‘light duty’ following last summer’s Olympics, he doesn’t appear to be in triple form.

With a change to the Olympic schedule coming for Paris 2024, expanding from 8 days to 9 days, there could be a better opportunity for Dressel to finally make the jump into this race. But for now, it will remain just a hopeful wish as Carson Foster’s 1:45.57 leads the way into finals.

Dressel won the 100 free on Tuesday in a time of 47.79 and still has remaining entries in the 50 fly, 100 fly, and 50 free: all races where he is the defending World Champion.

Other High-Seed DFS’ on Wednesday Morning:

• Olivia Smoliga was a no-show for the women’s 200 free (#3 seed) and the women’s 200 back (#7 seed).
• Claire Curzan was a no-show for the women’s 200 back (#5 seed)
• Daniel Carr was a no-show for the men’s 200 back (#4 seed), as was Nicolas Albiero.
• Both Kate Douglass (#3 seed) and Mallory Comerford were no-shows in the women’s 50 fly.