“Eye Opener for Sure”: Despite Breaking the World Record at the Olympics, Caeleb Dressel’s Heartwarming Gesture Toward Opponent Sends Swimming World Into Meltdown

It is a tough act to be in the same group as Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi, and Eric Heiden. Yet, a then 24-year-old Caeleb Dressel won 5 gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and entered the prestigious group of 5 swimming giants. It took his Olympic gold tally to 7. One such gold medal was won by Dressel in the Men’s 100-meter butterfly event where he completed the race in 49.45 seconds. It created a new world record, but it was what Dressel did after his win, that won the fan’s hearts. As a video of the incident resurfaces, swimming fans cherish the special moment of sportsmanship from Dressel once more.

Dressel had managed to edge past his previous competitor’s record by a bare minimum margin of 0.23 seconds. It was a special moment for the 24-year-old then. Dressel did celebrate, but it was not his own win. His competitor too finished in below 50 seconds, and Dressel was happy about it. His fans couldn’t but notice the kind gesture from Dressel.

Caeleb Dressel made his winning moment special for two reasons

A video by the YouTube channel “The Swammers” wrote the caption, “World Record in Selflessness” followed by 3 emojis of ‘100’. Dressel’s kind act was definitely one of the most heartwarming moments in the world of sports. The video perfectly narrates how the race started and how it ended with the celebration.

Dressel started off on a great note with a reaction time of 0.60 seconds. The video said, “Caeleb starts 1st place and doesn’t leave it”. He also expertly relied on his underwater kicks, which are some of the best ever. It also mentioned how Dressel is acutely aware of every single detail during his swimming competition, even as he is submerged underwater. Dressel holds his 1st place even after the halfway mark, and only when 15 meters are left for completion, he does something special.

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His competitor Kristof Milak, a Hungarian swimmer with a gold and a silver medal at the Olympics, was closely behind Dressel throughout the entire race. However, when Dressel held his breath and sped up for the last 15 meters, he won the race comfortably at 49.45 seconds. But so did Milak, who finished at 49.68 seconds. Dressel looked at the scoreboard and immediately congratulated Milak for his own personal best. Witnessing this, fans expressed their thoughts.

Fans hail Dressel as a great sportsman outside of the swimming arena as well

Calebel Dressel was aware that he already won with a new world record. However, he soon turned to Milak to acknowledge his record. Heartfelt fans shared their reactions below online:

“Dressel is a G”, wrote a fan who could’ve meant that Dressel is either a golden human or just a great sportsman.

“As a swimmer, celebrating for competitors and their PRs is pretty commonplace, but to see that it happens outside of low league swims, especially in the Olympics is an eye opener for sure”, wrote a fan who called this gesture rare and special in the sporting community.

“As a Hungarian, this was especially heartwarming to see”, wrote a fan who clearly supported their national hero Kristof Milak and was happy to see a kind act towards him.

“I watched this live and it was remarkable. I used to be a competitive swimmer and it’s awesome to see acts of sportsmanship like these”, wrote someone who simply acknowledged the beauty of such gestures in the sporting world.

“This is what we need more of in professional sports, good sportsmanship”, wrote someone who called for more of these gestures from every athlete.

Dressel went on to win 4 more gold medals at the same Olympics, but his winning moment in the 100-meters butterfly was special for another reason. Olympics.com chose that moment as one of the three most special swimming moments from the Tokyo Olympics 2020. It was indeed memorable. Dressel might return at next year’s Paris Olympics, as months ago he also teased his comeback to the World Swimming Championships.

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