Dressel misses podium in 50m free, fails to qualify in 100m fly

American swimming star and former Florida Gator Caeleb Dressel suffered heartbreak twice at the Paris Olympics on Friday as he failed to defend both of his gold medals from Tokyo.

Dressel first raced in the 50-meter freestyle final, in which he placed sixth with a time of 21.61 seconds — slower than his semifinal time of 21.58 seconds.

Then, Dressel missed the cut in the 100-meter butterfly semifinals, placing 13th with a time of 51.57 seconds. Only the top eight advance to the final. Dressel was half a second slower than the eighth-place finisher, Japan’s Naoki Mizunuma.

“Very obviously not my best work,” Dressel said after the race. “Hasn’t been my best week, I don’t need to shy away from that. Yeah, it’s tough, a little heartbreaking.”

It’s been a rough year for the American team overall. The United States have only brought home four golds in swimming through seven days when they typically finish things with 10 or more.

Dressel and the Americans have a chance to end these Paris Games on a positive note, though. The 4×100-meter medley relay begins heats tomorrow, and the United States are looking to defend gold.

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