Caeleb Dressel fired the shot heard around the nation with his 18.39 in the 50 freestyle on Wednesday morning, following that up by lowering his new American record to an 18.23 that same day at finals. Dressel’s success was no shock to Steve Jungbluth, the University of Florida’s sprint coach, who can testify to the huge strides in training. “He’s at a whole different level. What he is able to handle physically is amazing compared to where he was his freshman year, particularly in the fall,” said Jungbluth.
Jungbluth and the Gators have had some big wins in the sprint events this year at SECs, including the Gators’ first 200 free relay victory since 2002. The quartet of Corey Main (19.41), Mark Szaranek (19.57), Dressel (18.41), and Jack Blyzinskyj (19.05) won a tight battle over Auburn and Alabama to claim the title. They won the 200 medley relay on the first night as well, with Blyzinskyj (20.93), Dressel (23.43), Jan Switkowski (20.33) and Main (19.00) teaming up to beat Auburn by a hair in that race.
The Florida men currently sit in 1st place and are looking to defend their SEC title for the 4th year in a row. The women sit in 4th after getting some big points in the sprint events from Natalie Hinds in the 50 free and 100 fly.
Coach #2
Out of curiosity, what was Caleb as senior in hs vs freshman vs soph (so far) with best events/times and drops/% improvement? He has been at the top the past few years, but would be interesting to see how much of a breakout year he has had this year…
I’d love to hear about a great set that he thinks really helps Dressel with his speed, some insight into his training would be awesome in these interviews…if he’d talk about it.
Congrats to Coach Jungbluth, one of the best sprint minds in the business. Caeleb is an incredible, perhaps once-in-a-generation talent, and it’s awesome to see his development. I am certain Steve has had a lot to do with it. Look forward to more big things to come from both of them.