“I don't want to end up leaving the sport early or hating it because I didn't give myself time to respect the water and I feel like the water has always respected me. I would like to prioritize myself a little bit more instead of swimming.”

American competitive swimmer, born 1996

Caeleb Dressel is an American competitive swimmer. Born in 1996, he specializes in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events and has become known for a string of major championship performances. He won seven gold medals at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, then added nine medals, including six gold, at the 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Hangzhou. In 2019, he earned eight medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, six of them gold. He is also a nine-time Olympic gold medalist and holds world records in the 100 meter butterfly and 100 meter individual medley.