SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers if Caeleb Dressel will win an individual world title in Fukuoka:
Question: Will Caeleb Dressel be an individual world champion in 2023?
RESULTS
- No – 53.1%
- Yes – 29.8%
- Undecided – 17.1%
We’re now approaching the eight-month mark since Caeleb Dressel‘s shocking and abrupt departure from the 2022 World Championships, and there’s no still no clarity on whether or not he plans to return to competition in 2023.
There are about four and a half months until the U.S. National Championships—the qualifying meet for this year’s World Championships—get underway in Indianapolis on June 27, so he has time, but the clock is ticking and it’s left many in the sport wondering if we’ll see the dominant sprinter back in the pool anytime soon.
Sparked by our recent Top 100 For 2023 rankings, where Dressel fell from first last year down to seventh, we asked readers if they believe the 26-year-old will win an individual world title this year.
Dressel has won an incredible 15 gold and two silver medals at the World Aquatics Championships dating back to 2017, having amassed a record-tying seven gold in Budapest, eight total medals in Gwangju, and then last year in Budapest, despite leaving midway through (and before the final of any of his three primary events), he still won a pair of golds in the 50 fly and 400 free relay.
More than half of the votes, 53.1 percent, said no, Dressel won’t win an individual title this year.
There was a point where he was the massive favorite for gold in three of the four events in which he races at Worlds, with Kyle Chalmers being his lone real challenger in the 100 free. That’s changed in a big way, as David Popovici is the new man to beat in the 100 free (along with Chalmers), while Kristof Milak makes Dressel’s path to 100 fly victory a tough one.
In the 50 free and 50 fly, Dressel at or near his best would still be a big favorite to win, though fans aren’t bullish that will come to fruition this year.
For what it’s worth, despite not completing his World Championship schedule, Dressel still ranked first in the world in the 50 free (21.29), 50 fly (22.57) and 100 fly (50.01) last year.
Just under 30 percent of voters believe Dressel will win an individual title this year, while just over 17 percent remain undecided for the time being—perhaps indicating that if he is competing, they think he will, but there’s not sure whether or not he’ll be suiting up.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: How many U.S. Open/NCAA records will we see during conference championships?
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The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
If Caeleb attends worlds it means he has prepared and is ready. He will win a championship.
What is wrong with you all? Athletes are humans, they are way more than best times and titles. Caleb came forward to speak about his mental health struggles and the need to reassess his life. Your headline and how the media covers athletes is so unjust and detrimental to their wellbeing. Caleb is taking care of himself. If he’s back, whatever the results in the water is less important than his honest fight to have a better life. Shame on you all!!!
He hasn’t actually “come forward” to speak about anything. Unless I’m remembering wrong he hasn’t personally done any media or offered any explanation since Worlds? But swimmers who were open about taking lighter schedules last year and actually did media themselves were ridiculed for it.
How is the sport ever supposed to grow of swimming media and fans aren’t supposed to discuss if the best swimmer since Phelps will actually swim or not? What a joke.
Agree with the sentiment but “best swimmer since Phelps” is pretty arguable.
This strikes me as strangely overprotective. I’ve seen articles that really go after the athletes, and this doesn’t strike me as one of them. The article isn’t making any judgment on how Caeleb lives his life or attacking him/his character for taking a break – it’s just saying that most swim fans don’t think he’s set up to win on the world stage this year because he’s been on a break and hasn’t given much explanation. That’s pretty straightforward reporting of swimming news on a swimming news site.
He has given no explanation
[email protected]
Swimming needs dressel more than dressel needs swimming at this point. People really should him get to the Paris Games in very top form, and maybe go after the 2028 games in the US for a big send off.
If he is trainning and wanting to go to Fukuoka, i don’t see why He wouldn’t win the 50 Free, and maybe the 100 Butterfly.
Lets go Dressel!!
Swimming absolutely does not need any one swimmer. It never has. The popularity of swimming as a sport will not be affected in the slightest by whether Dressel decides to continue competing or not.
The growth of swimming in the wake of Beijing says this is absolutely not true. The hardcore swimming fans will always recognize the other incredible athletes in the sport, but it takes an extreme outlier to draw more people in.
Caeleb Dressel is not Michael Phelps. Caeleb Dressel in Tokyo was certainly not Michael Phelps in Beijing.
Phelps’s performance in Beijing was the best Olympic performance of all time for any sport, including 7 world records. Dressel’s performance in Tokyo was good but not even close to historic. If anything, McKeon being the first woman to win 7 medals was much more notable.
Beside the point, swimming has survived as an Olympic sport, one of the most popular ones, for over 100 years. That would still be the case even if Phelps didn’t exist.
Suggesting that swimming “needs” anyone, particularly Dressel, is an embarrassingly bad take.
Unless you’re only talking about the US I think you’re overestimating the impact of Phelps on the popularity of swimming in other countries. The popularity of swimming Australia definitely didn’t peak in 2008 and the years following.
Could anyone else see Dressel turning his focus to CrossFit and the CrossFit Games?
He would see it as way better than staring at a black line all workout. If he doesn’t mind finishing in the 3-4000th + place vs 1st yeah
Why would he do CrossFit lol?
Tall with long arms is not the ideal CrossFit body type – they tend to be built more like lifters than endurance athletes, and while Caeleb is jacked compared to most swimmers and all normal people, he doesn’t have the kind of “densely muscled” body the top cross fitters have.
As for leaving on one’s own terms:
World Record
World Record
World Record – 4 x 100 meter medley relay
The aforementioned summarizes the last three swims at the Summer Olympic Games. Now that is going out in style.
Kind of leaving out the dropping of the 100 Freestyle during the heats of the world championships after having a mental breakdown part
He broke one individual WR and one relay WR in Tokyo. Not sure where you got the third one from?
His reasoning can be confidential. No one *likes* talking about their mental health, let alone publicly talking about it to a multi-national audience.
Where’s Waldo?
Can’t lie, every time I see someone post that Dressel isn’t coming back (and all the likes), I get sad.