Caeleb Dressel has had a twelve-year career to back his reputation as one of the all-time great swimmers. He just plain terrorized it at the Olympics, where he won eight medals. Five of them came to Tokyo itself, which saw him join the list of the five American athletes to have ever done so in one competition. A very select number of swimmers have the privilege of having their legacies compared to Dressel’s. Even if that happens, the chances of them actually having a better legacy are very low. He has established himself as one of the greats. This doesn’t mean he has slowed down.

Recently, at the Paris Olympics, he led the US relay team to a gold medal finish in the 4×100 freestyle competition as their anchor. This was a very special moment for him and his family due to his long bouts with mental health. While discussing Dressel’s legacy, one can’t forget the man who has probably been the most influential in shaping his career. That is his former coach, Gregg Troy, who had been coaching him since high school. Troy is arguably the most successful American swimming coach, as he has helped shape many careers in the past. Here’s more about Troy and his achievements:

Meet Caeleb Dressel’s coach, Gregg Troy

He later served as the coach of the men’s team for the 1999 Pan American Games and then moved to serve as an assistant coach at the 2008 Olympics. Finally, in 2012, he became the head coach of the men’s national team, with the season being his first time at the Olympics in that role. Under him, they went on to win sixteen Olympic medals, with eight of them being gold.

Although he has now retired from collegiate coaching, he has been a huge influence on the careers of many Olympians. While one is Caeleb Dressel, the other is Ryan Lochte. He took his game to another level, where he managed to win 11 medals training under Troy, including five Olympic gold medals, in just three editions. With Dressel, Troy has managed to see him through to the major pinnacles of his career, including the five-medal haul in Tokyo. The swimmer also appreciates the effect that Troy had on his overall life since he became a much better person as an athlete under his coaching.

Gregg Troy reveals the experience of coaching Dressel

After the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Caeleb Dressel decided to leave Troy and be trained by Anthony Nesty. This he did in anticipation of changing his routine, hoping it would reignite motivation for his swimming career. That would have been the time when Dressel himself went through his period of mental health issues. Troy opened up about his coaching experience with Dressel in a podcast. “It was special,” he said. “He’s different from some of the other good ones that I have worked with.” Troy described the process as being very cerebral and said that Dressel was a perfectionist and could be his own worst critic sometimes. During Dressel’s college years, Troy changed his approach a bit. He built a group around him, giving him more exposure to fellow competitors.

He blamed the pandemic for being very hectic, which affected their training. “The pool time decreased a lot during pandemic. We had adequate water, but we had to train in unique places and not the best training dynamic and kind of odd hours.” After that, the podcast host praised him for doing outstanding work with Caeleb Dressel and doubted that anyone else could emulate him. He also thought that he didn’t get much credit for training him.

Regardless, Troy does not seem to hold any grudges over leaving Dressel. Both men have had vastly successful careers, both together and separately. Their legacies and achievements will be remembered for years to come.