“Very Fulfilling”: Fresh to Fatherhood, Caleb Dressel Reflects on Life Post-Kid, Following Gold-Winning Performance

The road to Paris 2024 is gaining momentum and the country’s top swimmers are making every chance count along the way. The penultimate TYR Pro Series has taken over Westmont, Illinois, and a familiar face is back on the podium. Caeleb Dressel opted out of the last TYR Pro Knoxville event a couple of months ago to take care of his family. That family gifted him with a child as he embraced fatherhood a few days back. That looks to have boosted the Olympic gold medalist’s morale big time.

This time, in the TYR Pro, the seven-time Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel breezed past A-listers in the 100m fly event to win his first top finish of 2024. Understandably, emotions are running pretty high, and Dressel can’t be blamed for feeling the glee. While his fans might be eager to learn how he has been settling into his new life, the 100m butterfly record-holder had to satiate the inquisitive questions.

Caeleb Dressel sheds light on his doting family

Taking down World Championships gold medalists Dare Rose and Zach Harting, Dressel finished the 100m fly event first on the second day of the TYR Pro event. The official USA Swimming Twitter account shared his post-victory interview with a caption to capture Caeleb’s emotions of late. “Who’s cutting onions“, reads the post with a tear-eyed emoji. However, the champ looked more graceful than the post itself as he maintained his poise.

When asked how he’s coping with the new responsibilities, Caeleb said his life has been pretty rewarding after the birth of August. “…it’s been very fulfilling, I wouldn’t change anything, wouldn’t have it any other way“, Dressel stated as he beamed with pride.

He also claimed that welcoming a new family member didn’t mean that he had to “re-focus” on swimming. However, he also mentioned that the newly bestowed duties are making him look forward to new experiences. “There’s been some changes, diaper changes, and life changes“, confessed the 15-time World Championships (long course) gold medalist.

“I wouldn’t say it’s been tougher or gave me a new perspective, but it’s been fun“, further elaborated Caeleb as he also highlighted that his journey into fatherhood with his wife Megan has been an incredible one. Considering the tough challenges ahead, Caeleb will have to brace up some more, just like he did in the latest edition of the TYR Pro series.

A titillating affair in Westmont

Missing out on the 2023 World Championships, Caeleb’s return was a highly anticipated one, with the Paris Olympics looming overhead. With the national team trials only 100 days away, Dressel kicked off his journey in style, but it wasn’t easy. There were heavy names to pose a tough challenge to him.

Read more: TYR Pro Series: Caeleb Dressel Extends His Joy With a Cruising Victory Over World Champion

The reigning world champ Dare Rose, after a neck-to-neck battle, came in second (51.77), while the winner’s 51.27 sealed his victory in a determined fashion. The 26-year-old 2024 Doha Championships gold medalist Zach Harting crossed the finishing line third while the 2015 NCAA champ Italian Santo Condorelli came in fourth.

Now that Caeleb’s top form is back, his fans will look forward to some blazing time ahead in the pool. As the Olympics’ calling gets stronger, who do you think will dominate the waters at San Antonio next month?

Also Read: Caeleb Dressel vs Michael Phelps: Who Has the Most Medals?