“Stopped Drinking That Night”: How Caeleb Dressel Breaking Michael Phelps’ Record Inspired Cody Simpson’s Career Switch

“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.”–Michael Phelps’s words still ring true to the masses. These words are true for pop sensation Cody Simpson, who was waiting for The Masked Singer to start on TV when his life changed in the blink of an eye. Simpson has done it all, from being a pop icon to being an elite swimmer. Now there is a common thread to it all. Ace swimmer Caeleb Dressel is to thank for it as well. Thousands of miles away in Gwanju, Caeleb Dressel was making history by usurping the Baltimore Bullet. Dressel broke the 100m butterfly event record held by Michael Phelps at the 2019 FINA World Swimming Championships, beating Phelps’ record by half a second with a time of 49.50s.

Transfixed by the races, Simpson realized that Dressel was just around his age and decided it wasn’t too late to resurrect his own Olympic dream. Now, Cody Simpson is on his final chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics, battling time and competition to achieve his swimming dream. How will Paris shape up to be for the pop icon turned swimmer extraordinaire? What prompted him to find recourse to the pool yet again?

 Cody Simpson has not one but two benefactors to thank

As per a 2021 interview with New York Times, swimmer Cody Simpson opened up about how exactly Caeleb Dressel inspired his career. Long before Cody Simpson was a singing sensation, the Queensland native was a swimmer. As a schoolboy, he had also set multiple records. In 2019, as he watched the World Swimming Championships, he was transfixed by one particular swimmer. – Caeleb Dressel, who is only five months older than Simpson. Plus, Dressel had just broken a world record that was previously held by Cody’s idol, Michael Phelps. The singer turned swimmer experienced a transformative journey.

He thought to himself then that perhaps there was still time to breathe to life a long-forgotten dream of competing in the Olympics. Simpson said, “I stopped drinking that night and started finding pools the next day.” It took Simpson some time to do the required legwork to meet the qualifying standard for the Australian Olympic Trials in the 100m butterfly event. During his second race of the day, he beat the required time at a San Diego meet in the 200m freestyle. Cody Simpson’s emergence into the swimming world was much faster than anyone could have imagined. 

Cody Simpson’s admiration for Dressel is well-deserved. As an 8 times record holder, in four individual and four relay events. During the Tokyo Olympics 2020, he won 5 gold medals, a feat that is envied by many. Now, with fatherhood on his plate as well, he hopes to leave a dent in Paris. Though Simpson has not yet surpassed Dressel’s level of success or talent, they share the same dominant allele to be laser focused on the end goal. Though it was hard for Simpson to turn into a swimmer overnight, he had done a complete 360, something that might just be the X factor needed for the Olympics.

Cody Simpson vying for an Olympic spot on his peripheral vision

Cody Simpson had dedicated himself to a strict training regime. He trains for 15-16 workouts each week under the guidance of his coach Brett Hawke. In 2022, he joined the Australian Swim Team after qualifying for the Commonwealth Games trials. During the Commonwealth Games that year in Birmingham, he won a gold medal as part of the 4×100 freestyle relay team. He also won a silver medal in the 4x100m medley relay. With solid credentials, it might not be too bold to assume he can one day topple his idol Phelps’ records.

Simpson took part in the events held at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre. To do this, he needed to beat his own personal best times and they are : 48.67s in the 100m freestyle and 51.67s in the 100m butterfly. His 100m freestyle record was in fact set during the B-final of the Australian Swimming trials. He tied with swimmer Matt Temple. It was faster than the required time to qualify for Paris. Traditionally, the top six swimmers head to the relay events from Australia. However, his performance does not count as it should have come earlier during the A-final event.

 He told reporters, “It’s a stacked field in the 100 free so I knew it was going to be a bit iffy trying to get into that final.” However the swim is a good indication that Simpson might just make the team as the 100m butterfly event is still pending and will take place on Saturday. Will Paris welcome and usher the Australian phenom with open arms? Time will tell.