What Happened to Caeleb Dressel?: Why Was He Crying at 2024 Olympics?

Fans are concerned about what happened to Caeleb Dressel after he was seen crying during the 2024 Paris Olympics. During the NBC broadcast of the event, the decorated Olympic gold medalist known for his prowess in various swimming events in butterfly and freestyle was in tears after his performance throughout the day. Dressel has previously shared his struggle with mental health, including panic attacks and depression, throughout his career. Here’s an explanation of why Caleb Dressing was crying at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Why was Caleb Dressel crying at the Olympics?

The reasons behind Caleb Dressel crying on Friday, August 2, at the 2024 Paris Olympics were mainly his disappointing 13th-place finish out of 16 in the 100m butterfly semi-finals and other struggles earlier in the day.

Before the 100m butterfly semi-finals, Dressel swam in the men’s 50m freestyle final where he landed off the podium in sixth place. He also participated in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, in addition to the preliminary round for the 100m butterfly.

So by the time he was in the 100m butterfly semi-finals, he might have been somewhat gassed. His time of 51.57 was more than a second off his 50.19 time at the 100m butterfly finals at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. For context, a 50.19 would have put him in first place for the semi-finals and qualify him to the finals where he could have defended his gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

NBC spent a lot of time focusing on Dressel’s tearful reaction to the race, a choice that some fans on X have criticized. One commenter wrote that it would have better for NBC to “pan away from Caeleb Dressel breaking down in tears and give him a moment of privacy.”

After the race, Dressel addressed his performance to the media. According to posts by reporter Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic on X, Dressel stated, “It hasn’t been my best week. I don’t think I need to shy away from that.” He continued, “I trained to go faster than the times I’m going. I know that. So, yeah. It’s tough, a little heartbreaking.”

That said, Dressel won a gold medal on July 27 in the men’s 4x100m freestyle, along with Jack Alexj, Chris Guilliano, and Hunter Armstrong. He still has a shot of earning more medals during the mixed 4×100 medley relay and men’s 4×100 medley relay.