United States swimmer Caeleb Dressel might not have been a household name before the swimming world championships, but he will be soon. The soon-to-be superstar became the first swimming in history to take three gold medals in a single night. Furthermore, he took them all in the span of two hours on Saturday night in Budapest.
Dressel took the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 4x100 freestyle (the latter-most race in world record fashion), before offering the perfect response from a 20-year-old kid that just became a star:
"Man, that was a lot of fun."
Dressel now has six gold members at the world championships, and Michael Phelps's record of seven golds (set in Melbourne, Australia in 2007) is within striking distance. Sunday night Dressel will race in the 4x100 medley to conclude the games, and all eyes will be on him and his team.
It's been a show-stealing performance for Dressel; Katie Ledecky was the talk of the games heading in. After Ledecky lost to Italy's Federica Pellegrini in the 200 freestyle, Dressel is the swimmer to watch as the games head to their final day. Ledecky was expected to compete for six golds in the women's games, but she came up short.
Dressel is staying humble in the face of being compared to some of the best.
"The comparisons are probably inevitable," Dressel said. "But I'm not the same person as Michael [Phelps].
"It's a tough question," Dressel said of the comparison. "I don't know if I welcome them. But I know they're going to come. I don't think it puts any pressure on me. I just want to keep doing my thing at this meet and for the future."
Phelps took note of the up-and-comer, and let Dressel know he's rooting for him.
"This kid is on fire!!" Phelps posted on his Instagram alongside a photo of him with Dressel at Rio. "So damn fun to watch buddy!!!!"
As the games wind down, the comparisons will come. But Dressel is taking it a race at a time. As the championships wind down, it will be interesting to see if the comparisons are lateral or "what-if?"
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
