Caeleb Dressel added another event to his Olympic program in Tokyo, powering to a dominating victory in the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming trials Saturday night.
No one was even close to Dressel as he finished in 49.87 seconds — just off his world record of 49.50 set two years ago at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
Tom Shields claimed the expected second spot on the U.S. team by touching next in 51.19. Shields was an Olympian in 2016, taking gold as part of the 4x100 medley relay.
Caeleb Dressel gets ready for the men's 100 butterfly during wave 2 of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Omaha, Neb. (AP PhotoJeff Roberson)
Dressel, who already made the Olympic team with a victory in the 100 freestyle, had another race later Saturday in the semifinals of the 50 free.
He is hoping to swim three individuals events in Tokyo and perhaps all four relays, giving him a chance to join Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz as the only swimmers to win seven swimming medals at the Olympics.
At the last world championships, Dressel became only the second swimmer after Phelps as the swimmers to win eight medals at a major international competition.
Caeleb Dressel dives at the start of a men's 50-meter freestyle preliminary heat during wave 2 of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Omaha, Neb. (AP PhotoCharlie Neibergall)
The 24-year-old Floridian captured six gold medals and two silvers, though two of those were in non-Olympic events.
With Phelps now retired, Dressel is expected to join Katie Ledecky as the biggest American swimming stars at the Olympics.
Ledecky was heavily favored to add a fourth individual race to her Olympic schedule when she swam later Saturday in her final event, the 800 freestyle.
Caeleb Dressel participates in the men's 100 butterfly during wave 2 of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Omaha, Neb. (AP PhotoJeff Roberson)
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 and his work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry
More AP Olympic coverage: https://www.apnews.com/OlympicGames and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
_