Caeleb Dressel broke the 100-meter individual medley world record, becoming the first person to break the 50-second barrier in the event, at the International Swimming League semifinal for the Cali Condors this week. The Olympic champion and Florida native recorded a time of 49.88, beating the previous record of 50.26 from Russian Vladimir Morozov, who hit that mark twice in 2018.
Here's the record performance in its entirety:
The individual medley combines the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle, with 25 meters for each stroke. Ryan Lochte was the last American to hold the 100-meter individual medley world record. At the 2008 World Championships, he hit 51.25, only to break his own record the next day with a time of 51.15 seconds.
Dressel currently owns the American record in the 100 freestyle and also added to his resume during ISL action, breaking the American record in the 50 M butterfly.
The Cali Condors, Dreseel's ISL team, have advanced to the International Swimming League final where Dressel will be given the chance to shatter more world records.
Dressel is expected to be a big part of the United State swimming team at the Tokyo Olympics next summer. He will likely compete in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly and relays there.
