After a Mental Health Break, Caeleb Dressel Returns to the Pool
During the eight months Caeleb Dressel spent not swimming, he was surprised by the things he came to miss. Some were simple, like blowing bubbles in the water or the feel of his toes on the grip tape of the starting blocks. But he also missed the chlorine — a swimmer’s nemesis — and the dry skin that comes with hours spent in the pool.
“I missed every part of it,” Dressel, 26, said. “And that’s how I knew I was ready to get back. Because I didn’t need to — I wanted to.”
For several years, Dressel, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, reigned as the best sprinter in the world. But last June, he abruptly withdrew from the world championships because of an undisclosed health issue and disappeared from the sport and the spotlight. Outside of a social media post last September, he hadn’t discussed his absence publicly until this week, when he returned to elite swimming competition at the U.S. national championships.
Dressel’s performance reflected his long hiatus from the pool. His preliminary swims in the 50-meter and the 100-meter freestyle, events he won at the Tokyo Olympics and in which he holds the American record, were too slow to make the championship final. His best finish in four events was third place in the 50-meter butterfly, not good enough to qualify for the upcoming world championships.
Source: The New York Times
