TYR Summer Championships Offer Caeleb Dressel an Opportunity for Pan Pacs Berth
This post-Olympic summer has certainly not been quiet when it comes to major competition. While the World University Games and World Championships are now in the rearview mirror, the sport’s calendar remains filled with action. Starting tomorrow in Southern California, the TYR Summer Championships will be held at the William Woollett Aquatic Center, the meet slated to feature some prominent names. Then later this month, rising stars from the around the globe will gather in Romania for the World Junior Championships.
One of the names who will attract attention at the TYR Champs is Caeleb Dressel, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist. Dressel opted to bypass the United States National Championships in June, a meet that served as the selection competition for the World Champs in Singapore. A little more than a month after he and his wife welcomed their second child, Dressel appears on the psych sheets for the TYR Championships, entered in the 50 freestyle, 50 butterfly and 100 butterfly.
Dressel has raced in two meets since last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, competing at the TYR Pro Series in Fort Lauderdale in May, and taking part in the Florida Championships in Ocala in the middle of July. What kind of performances will Dressel produce in SoCal? The answers will be provided soon. Surely, the presence of a longtime headliner for Team USA adds to the meet’s star power.
Because USA Swimming is employing a multi-competition selection process to determine next year’s roster for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, Dressel will have an opportunity to earn a berth to Pan Pacs this week. In his three events, he’ll need to swim a time that ranks in the top-two in the United States. Heading into the TYR meet, that means he’ll need to be faster than 21.68 in the 50 freestyle, 23.21 in the 50 fly and 50.70 in the 100 fly.
In Ocala in mid-July, Dressel was timed in 22-mid in the 50 freestyle and clocked respective butterfly times of 23.34 and 52.33. He’s always been a big taper swimmer, so significant drops would not be a surprise.
If Dressel qualifies for Pan Pacific Champs in any of his three events, guidelines for the meet will allow him to add additional events to his program. If nothing else, an appearance by the future Hall of Famer will elevate the level of the meet, and is a positive for the sport.
