“Don’t Ever Forget”: New Dad Swimmer Caeleb Dressel Caught off Guard by Sports Analyst

If you are familiar with Olympic athletics, you would know winning five gold medals in a single Olympics is rare in swimming. A feat that made Caeleb Dressel the fifth American post-1970 to do so, in addition to his multi-distance accolades from various meets spread across the year. Nevertheless, putting every joy in his career aside, he experienced the most profound emotion last month when he and his wife Meghan Dressel became parents to Austin Wilder Dressel.

Now that he is back to his pool responsibilities, the new dad was caught lacking when a spokesman casually included his son’s topic. Is the champion swimmer still adapting to the new member? Here’s what brought a good laugh to the moment in the end!

Caeleb Dressel humorously second-guesses himself

There’s a whole lot of steam in the pace-packed swimming environment ahead of the Summer Olympics. 27-year-old Caeleb who became a dad on 17, Feb 2024, won his first event of the year over the World champion in the second stop of TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmont. Post-win, @NBCOlympics took to X to share a video of a video conversation captioned, “Caeleb Dressel’s newborn son and NBC Sports analyst Rowdy Gaines share the same birthday.”

In the video, three-time Olympic gold medalist and current swimming analyst for NBC, Rowdy Gaines, questioned Dressel: “He(Dresser’s son) has really the best birthday imaginable,” Caeleb added, “Is it yours Rowdy,” the veteran confirmed, “Yeah…You texted me on that day and said, “Hey! Here he is! February 17th.” Dressel confessed, “I didn’t know that…it’s your birthday, Rowdy. My bad.” “That’s right. Don’t ever forget that,” stressed Gaines.

This week, Dressel competed after taking a long break from the sport since his wife was expecting. He won in the 50m freestyle event at the 2024 TYR Pro Swim Series on March 8. While a lane 8 error halted the win for some time, the seven-time Olympic gold medalist clocked 21.48, almost like he never left. On the second day, he added the 100-meter butterfly gold with an impressive time of 51.27 after two years. However, having the new role of a father added to his life, he became emotional when talking about his son post-win.

New dad shares precious moments

Caeleb Dressel undoubtedly returned to competitive swimming with added flair, talking to NBC Sports he shared some inns of being a new parent. He said: “Yeah, I wouldn’t say its been tougher. It gave me a new perspective. It’s just been fun. So, it’s been fun doing it with Meghan, my teammate.”

READ MORE “Miss Him”: New Dad and US Legend Caeleb Dressel on Balancing Paris Olympics With Parenthood

Talking about his shared part in parenthood, he said, “It’s definitely been some changes, diaper changes, and actual life changes, but it’s all been very fulfilling. I wouldn’t change anything. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I miss him so much. Been gone two days. I need to sniff him.” Back in the Olympics run, Dressel now has a lingering responsibility to defend his five titles from the Tokyo Olympics.

Continue Reading “What Did I Do Wrong”: Despite 7 Olympic Medals, Swimming Star Caeleb Dressel Reflects on His Vulnerable Side