US – and Snoop Dogg – breathe sigh of relief as Dressel ends day-one gold drought

NShortly after Caeleb Dressel hit the wall Saturday night to capture the U.S.’s first gold at the Paris Olympics, teammate Hunter Armstrong burst into tears as he accepted his medal on the main podium.

Dressel could agree with this. Eight years ago He the young hotshot was reduced to a blubbering mess after winning the first of two gold medals in his Olympic debut in Rio. Now the Florida native, who turns 28 next month, is the veteran of a young U.S. swim team looking to keep pace with their Australian rivals.

“You can’t help it,” Dressel said. “You can’t explain this moment until you’re on the podium and you see the flag go up. Hunter actually happened before the flag went up. It’s really special to see that. I remember what it was like for me, my first gold, I mean, I lost it. I came off the podium. But it’s special to see that and be a part of it with these guys. It’s an extremely special moment, and nobody can take that away from us.”

Dressel helped save the United States from a rare Day 1 shutout at the Summer Olympics when he led the team to a second straight 4x100m freestyle title. With a healthy lead thanks to Armstrong’s blistering third leg behind Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy’s strong opening, Dressel struck in a time of 3min 9.28sec to beat Australia by 1.07sec.

Dressel’s eighth medal at the Summer Games, all gold, extends one of the largest records in Olympic history. Only two other men or women, Usain Bolt and Ray Ewry, have won as many Olympic medals without a silver or bronze.

While Armstrong won Olympic gold in Tokyo as a preliminary swimmer on the winning 4x100m medley team, Saturday’s victory marked his first title in swimming in a final. As the U.S. team received their medals, thunderous cries of “USA!” rang out from the upper echelons of the packed 13,100-seat arena where the swim meet will take place over the next eight days.

“Honestly, relays are a little bit more special,” Dressel said. “So it’s awesome to do it with these guys. It takes me back to my first gold. It doesn’t get old. It’s really special to be on the podium with these guys and watch the flag go up. I’m so proud of them. It made my job easier.”

After throwing his fists in the air and hugging his teammates, Dressel quickly went to find his wife, Meghan, and their 5-month-old son, August Wilder. They had attended the night session with rapper Snoop Dogg, who celebrated wildly with the Dressel family after the U.S. won gold.

“It’s really special,” Dressel said. “The team for us makes [my son] and then winning a gold medal in front of him, just checking little boxes that I never thought about in my entire career. So that was a really special one tonight.”

Dressel’s road to his third Olympic Games was anything but straightforward. In 2022 – less than a year after his breakthrough five-gold medal run in Tokyo – he walked away from the World Championships halfway through and took eight months off from the pool to address his mental health. When he returned to the U.S. National Championships the following year, Dressel came nowhere close to qualifying for the World Championships, failing to qualify for the A-Final in both sprint freestyle races.

Dressel, who has been seen as Michael Phelps’ successor since winning a record seven gold medals at the 2017 world championships, admitted he has struggled with the pressure of expectations. But he has worked his way back in moderation and on his own terms, giving himself a chance to defend his gold medals in the 100m butterfly and 50m freestyle in Tokyo next week.