Caeleb Dressel Talks Retirement And Paris Olympic Experience

Caeleb Dressel’s comeback was one of the most highly anticipated performances at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Tokyo Olympic star joined the U.S. team to add three more Olympic medals to his name in La Defense Arena. However, the 28-year-old’s Paris journey was faced with a few setbacks as well, as he failed to win an individual win at the event. The swimmer placed sixth in the men’s 50-meter freestyle final and couldn’t qualify for the 100-meter fly finals.

Following Dressel’s third Olympic games, the florida-based swimmer candorly spoke to me about his experience in Paris. He also revealed his plans for his willingness to participate in the 2028 Olympics, on home soil.

Full Interview with Caeleb Dressel:

Paras Haji: At the 2024 Paris Olympics, you won two gold medals and a silver, all in relay events. How do you feel about your accomplishments and experience at the Paris Olympics?

Caeleb Dressel: I mean, the experience was great; I don’t think anyone in the world would be able to come back from an Olympic game and say they didn’t enjoy their experience. Seeing all the different countries and all the people’s different traditions and customs was really exciting. Just being able to share that with the fastest the team U.S.A. has to offer and the best athletes in the world is really exciting to be a part of. I mean, my experience was amazing, and having my family in the stand and actually getting to see Meghan, my wife, and my son in the village was a nice little treat as well.

Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever had a swim meet where I don’t want to do a little bit better than my results offered, so I feel like I underperformed in my individual swims, but I don’t know how much I really expected and what my goals were, so I wanted to leave Paris with a smile on my face and felt like I somewhat checked that box coming home. But yeah, it was quite the journey for myself now, knowing when I was coming back and going on a long break and climbing my way up and making my third Olympic team, that was really exciting.

Paras: Team U.S.A. successfully defended their title in the freestyle medley relay at Paris, and there were first-time Olympians Jack Alexy and Chris Guiliano with you in the freestyle relay team. How do you feel about the win as the most experienced one in the relay team?

Dressel: Yeah, So I had Coach Nesty and Coach Dave Durden; they both gave me a head three weeks before the game started that I was going to be the anchor spot, and I’ve never been the anchor for a team U.S.A. relay, so there’s a lot of pressure comes with that, and the closer the meet got, I was confident we were going to win. If I’m being honest, it was really exciting to be on the podium with three guys that’ve never been able to stand up there, and fortunately enough for me, that was the third time for that relay standing up there.

So, it really doesn’t get old and just sharing new experiences with those guys—same old experience for me but totally new for them, so that was a special treat. So kind of having the pressure on me, I more than welcomed it for the anchor spot, but I still definitely felt it.

But I knew Hunter was coming on that third leg; I was like, My job is easy; it really was pretty much done at that point. Jack started himself great, Chris swam a perfect, beautiful leg, and once Hunter came in with the fastest leg, I really did have an easy job. I just got to enjoy the celebration with the guys, but yeah, watching that flag go up, it does not get old; no part of that gets old.

ForbesCaeleb Dressel Announces His Participation In The Paris OlympicsBy Paras Jan

Paras: Before the U.S. trials, you spoke to me in an interview about the pressure of going into the Paris Olympics as the biggest star of the Tokyo Olympics with 5 medals. I quote, “It’s a double-edged sword; certainly confidence, but then the pressure of trying to repeat that is tough.” Now, weeks after the event, can you walk us through the pressure you actually felt at the event and how you managed to handle it?

Dressel: There’s been a lot of work besides just the time in the pool training to manage this sport; there’s some things I’m not particularly good at but trying to get better at them. So I can honestly say that before every race in Paris, I was having a good time. I had a smile on my face. I was ready to step up there and swim, and it wasn’t my best week. It’s as simple as that. There’s still certain things I would like to get answers for. I might not ever get them, but I can say before every race, I was confident, I was excited to swim, and I genuinely felt happy.

I think the biggest difference between what I just explained in Paris and Tokyo was that Tokyo was more so after the swims were done. I think it was a little bit more exciting for me, a little bit happier.. Everything, every swim meet is going to be different. The pressure’s always going to feel different. I would have liked to have repeated results from Tokyo. That was a good time. Five gold medals—I can’t complain about that. And, you know, I can still have my head held high coming home with three medals from Paris and getting to enjoy my family in the stands and having my son watch me.

So it’s just different. I don’t want to just expect five gold medals every time I go to an Olympic Games. And I don’t even want to say I felt that pressure. I feel like I’ve actually been treated extremely fairly by the media, the public, and the swimming world, and they have really enjoyed watching me swim. It’s been an honor to be treated that fairly, and you know, just to have people like me for who I am and not be too fixated on just what my results are. I wish I saw that better than just fixating on the results, but yeah, I am happy with Paris. There’s still some parts that still leave a bitter taste in my mouth, but I’m still running around and having a good time.

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Paras: At the 2024 Paris Olympics, you finished sixth in the 50-meter freestyle final, and following this, you missed the qualification mark for the finals in the 100-meter butterfly. How do you feel about these losses? Did you expect more from these events as a defending gold medalist?

Dressel: Oh yeah, I expected a lot more from myself, nothing unrealistic either; that was all I had. I don’t want to say what went wrong; I’m not sure why I swam that slowly; I think that’s the best way to put it. I was tracking so well this whole year, my training was amazing, I had a great time with the team, I’m not sure, I don’t know, I would like to get answers as to why it wasn’t my best week, and again, I might not ever have them, it’s just how the sport goes sometimes.

But man, I was really on it in training this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I attacked every outlet that I could—the actual training, the lifting, eating right, sleeping, taking my naps when I could squeeze them in with the baby—so yeah, that’s just sometimes how the sport goes. I kept my head held high as best I could, did my job best I could on the relays, and every time I touched the water, that was 100% effort, that’s what I got from my body, so certainly frustrated, certainly disappointment in some regard, but it wasn’t from lack of effort; I feel like I prepared; I wouldn’t change a single thing about what I did this year; yeah, it’s been a true pleasure with Coach Nesty and the Gators.

Paras: You recently spoke about retirement from competitive swimming after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, hoping to race the 50-meter freestyle on U.S. soil. How do you expect your journey to go in the next three years to accomplish this dream? Do you feel apart from the 50-meter freestyle you will participate in any other event at the 2028 Olympics, or are you just eyeing a podium finish in only the 50-meter in LA?

Dressel: There’s a lot of conversations I need to have with a lot of different people in my circle. Friends, people who are retired, people who are still swimming. Yeah, I’m really not sure. I would love to swim in LA and not just the 50. If I could swim my normal three events, that would be fantastic. It’s just that there is a little bit of a perspective change for me with a son on the way, and who knows, four years from now, that could be three kids, could be two, I don’t know.

So it just depends if it’s something that I’m looking forward to, and I certainly have the motivation to do it. I mean, this sport’s given me everything. I love training. I love being with a team. So yeah, I’m certainly not going to rule out LA 2028. It’s always been my dream to compete there, and if I can swim 50 free and make the team, great. If I can do that with 100-meter butterfly as well, that’s even better. If I can do it with 50 free, 100 fly, and 100 free, that’s the best-case scenario. So yeah, I don’t have anything. I don’t have anything in place, quite frankly, because I don’t need to at the moment.

I haven’t put anything into place, but I would love to talk with Coach Nesty, and I’ll do that here in a bit. I’d love to talk to some of my teammates. This will be a very, very thought-out decision. It takes me 20 minutes to pick out toothpaste. So this will certainly take some time for myself. And I want to make the healthy, correct decision for myself, my family, my teammates, and my coaches.

So it’s not just me; it’s not just myself that’s involved. And I don’t know. I’m not sure what my future holds. I will always be involved in the sport. And I will always love and respect the water. So it’s not like you guys will never see me again or on a pool deck. But, honestly, in training. I would love to be a guest appearance for a couple training practices with the Gators. But for right now, I don’t know. And I finally have time on my side at the moment. So yeah, I’ll take my time with it, and this will be a very well-thought-out decision.

Paras: Coming back to you about being one of the most successful swimmers, winning 10 Olympic medals. While you have the guidance and the discipline to maintain your form and performance, what role have Nobull Products played in your Olympic journey?

Dressel: I remember my first phone call with them. I had been wearing their stuff, so it’s been a very organic partnership. They’ve been really, really great with me, and they’ve gotten to experience those ups and downs as well. I feel like it’s never been just about the performance. I think the biggest thing, especially in Paris. I got more love from everybody just after the heartbreak in 100-Fly; this was from the Nobull family, including just how proud they are and keeping their heads up. Gold medals are nice; speaking straight forward, it’s a lot of visibility for the brand, but I feel like they see past just the swimmer side of me, which I feel like a good amount of people do as well, but some people don’t; they don’t; they don’t get past the swimmer side of me. There’s a lot of ups and there’s a lot of downs in this sport, and then sticking by my side and seeing me as a person and loving the person and not just the medals attached to them has been really special.