INDIANAPOLIS — Caleb Dressel proved once again that he is currently the fastest swimmer in America by winning the men's 50-meter freestyle final at Friday night's U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Dressel won in 21.41 seconds, 0.20 seconds faster than his time in Thursday's semifinal, beating Chris Juliano, who came in second in 21.69. The pair should compete in the individual events at the Paris Olympics.
Dressel, the American record holder in the 50-meter freestyle, won the 100-meter freestyle on Wednesday, placing third behind Giuliano, who is making his Olympic debut, and is all set to compete in the individual events in Paris. But Dressel is expected to compete in the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay with Giuliano, Hunter Armstrong and Jack Alexie, who placed fourth in the 50-meter freestyle final.
Dressel, a 27-year-old swimmer and seven-time Olympic gold medalist, also has a chance to qualify individually in the semifinals of the 100-meter butterfly later Friday. This will be Dressel's third Olympic Games.
The 50m freestyle is a race that requires you to hold your breath, push yourself, and use your raw power. And it was a very close race, with all eight swimmers in the final qualifiers finishing in the high 21-second range, separated by 0.30 seconds. In Friday's final, the difference between first and eighth place was 0.67 seconds.
Michael Andrew, who placed fourth in the 50m freestyle at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, finished fifth.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caleb Dressel wins 50m freestyle at Olympic Trials, Chris Juliano takes second
