Dressel is disgusting in the best way possible. Simply astounding - he made the #10 performer all time look silly. Going to be fun watching him for the next few years.

Not really a "B" meet exactly - it is the conference championships, I'm sure he's not fully tapered from a training load standpoint, but there's something to the team dynamic of swimming with a bunch of guys who are that gets you mentally pumped to perform.

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Isn't it SEC champs? I wouldn't call it quite a B meet, since they're probably starting taper for NCAA's so he'll have a bit of race sharpness. He's always swum fast at SEC's. I haven't watched it yet, but apparently he had to beg his coach to let him swim the 2IM. I'm not surprised that he's that quick, as he's done relay duties in breaststroke before, his fly and free are world-best levels. Just didn't know how his backstroke stacked up, but I guess it's decent too.

I wanna see him take on Chase K and the Japanese guys in the big pool.

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Honetly I'm not sure his LCM 200IM would be with those guys. His walls are where he seems to flip the SCY version on it's head.

Video here:

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I wrote this, you should read it:
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I think he is slated to race the 200 free today. With a sub 1:39 IM yesterday he could very well go under 1:30 today! Unreal. EsqDavidK

Maybe, but he is the fastest flyer and freestyler in the world at the moment, and his breaststroke might not beat Peaty, but I'd bet he'd final in the 100 breast at Trials if he decided to do that instead. His backstroke doesn't look quite as good as the other strokes, but I think it would be interesting.

Would he beat the other guys? Dunno, but I think he'd be in the same area code at least.

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I think it's also pretty rare for someone to be world class in both pure sprint events (50 & 100) and more dynamic middle distance stuff like the 200 IM and 200 free. Phelps is the GOAT and you never saw him dabbling in the 50. I know this is SCY but still...

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Strava

Agreed about him not being as fast in the big pool. I think a big part of his short course speed was his astounding under masters, which are also probably the best in the world right now. He’s the best sprint flyer and freestyle, but he’s have to swim so much more back and breast in lcm that I don’t know where he winds up.

Fair enough that he’s not at exactly a B meet, but I’d guess he’s hardly rested. NCAAs were always going to be his season goal. Sounds like Troy wouldn’t even have let him swim it if the meet had mattered to them.

I think it's also pretty rare for someone to be world class in both pure sprint events (50 & 100) and more dynamic middle distance stuff like the 200 IM and 200 free. Phelps is the GOAT and you never saw him dabbling in the 50. I know this is SCY but still...//

Two things about this, Phelps of course could have swum a great 50, he went low 47 for the 100. But he went the other way and did the 400IM and dominated it, so no reason to ever focus on the 50. It is like runners that can do 100/200 or 200/400 or even 800/1500. You lean either up or down, Dressel leans down where Phelps leaned up from that 100 distance.


Now to talk about this guy. He is absolutely a fill in for Phelps, or could be. I can see him swimming the 50/100/200 free( maybe just relay 200 free), 100 fly, 200IM, 4x100, 4x200, and the mixed relays, so two more events there? SO as I count he could do 9 events at the games? Of course he would have others swim prelims in the relays to lessen some of the load, but with the mixed I think he could even break Phelps record theoretically?

I think he can really push further in the 200 Free (LCM).
He was a 1:48mid coming out of HS and he dropped a fairly quick one last year at WC Trials (1:46low if I recall).
His walls are amazing and with so much easy front half speed I think he'd put together a great swim.

I would also like to see what he can do in the 100 Breast long course, but I guess we have to settle with seeing him go yards tonight...can't wait!

Of course he could slam a 200m free, but he has to want to. He most certainly should be on the relay, will have to swim one somewhere to validate that. But in that respect he is like a Phelps or Lochte, he should be seeded on that relay without having to actually swim prelims. I would expect he would be 1st or 2nd fastest on it.

The only real decision for him is do you swim the individual 200? For al sprinter like him it could be tough and it will most certainly bump against other events. But the greats have done it, Spitz, Phelps, Lochte, and have been successful. But that is 3 long swims(for him anyway), but he would get to cruise at least the 1st one, and maybe 90 to 95% on the 2nd one to move through the heats. Same thing with the 200 IM, but I actually think he would be more dominant there and be able to soft swim even more to get to the finals..

I hope he does it, while you are young is the time and this is his window..

You forgot the men's medley relay.

All depends on the schedule, but I don't really see him swimming 3 individual freestyle events. I CAN see him swimming the 2IM though. I mean, the knock on him prior to Rio and 2017 WC's was that he wasn't proven in the big pool, that he relied on his walls and underwaters too much. We saw how that worked out, didn't we? Not to gush too much, but I'd put him as easily the most talented male swimmer in the world right now, and I'd have a hard time choosing between him and Ledecky for most talented swimmer of any gender. He's more versatile up to at least the 200, but she is soooo dominant in the freestyle mid-D and D.....

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Just checked, looks like he did NOT swim the 200 free today. Imagine how fast he will go in the 200 someday. I mean, last year he lowered the 100 free record to 40.00.

You forgot the men's medley relay. //

Duh, of course.. SO now he can get rid of the 200 free which is 3 swims and still do 9 events. He will be a lock for the Medley, only question is what stroke!! He could go fly or free, I would say fly right now if Nathan stays on form and keeps swimming, or someone else steps up in that 47 flat start range.


Not saying it will happen, but he has the opportunity to actually surpass Phelps, something I never thought could ever happen. Of course I thought the same thing when Spitz won his 7 gold, but it did take a hell of a long time before that happened. This is almost the same generation, they actually crossed over at Dressel's beginning and Phelp's end..

The thing is, he gets compared a lot to Biondi and I think that’s right. Biondi was also a world class legit gold medal contender in the 200 free but I don’t believe it worked out for him at the games.
My observation is that it’s so hard to be dominant at either the sprints or the middle distance events that I think it’s almost impossible to swim both.
It’s worth noting that the 200lcm is almost 2.5x the time of his 100 yard swim.
Going the opposite direction, Phelps had a helluva hundred free, but being a lock on a gold would have taken more.
It’s a funny world when you get into that kind of multi-event greatness.

It’s a funny world when you get into that kind of multi-event greatness.

Well he just went about 138 flat for 200 IM, I would say that puts him as the odds on favorite in that event. And no need to wonder if he can swim LCM, think he shook that cloud of doubt in the last couple meets he swam.. And at his age he is just getting better and better, how fast can this guy go in a couple more years?? Seems unimaginable that he gets even faster when he is already the fastest in most of his events.

Actually, Dressel would need to win 6 individual events, plus be part of 3 traditional, non-mixed relays, to legitimately break Phelps's record, since his 8 did NOT include the new mixed relay races. Otherwise, he would always have an * by his record.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I'm going to go ahead and give Dressel the benefit of the doubt in the LCM 200 IM. I think 1:54 is in danger. Certainly he's proven himself in the big pool. I'll also say that anyone who doubts him in the LCM 200 FR and 100 BR hasn't been paying attention. Assuming Dressel doesn't get injured and keeps his head on straight, I wouldn't be surprised by anything from him.

Also, we need to talk about Hugo Gonzalez, but that's a topic for a different thread.

To legit break Phelps's 8 record, a swimmer would have to win 6 indy events plus of course all 3 relays have to win. (We all know MP would not have won 8 if it had not been for Lezak's miracle anchor leg; AFAIK, his 46.06 is still the fastest 100 lcm split ever.) It would be a sh*t ton of fast swimming but in theory, Dressel could do it in the 50/100/200 FR, 100 FL, 100 BR, and 200 IM. Now THAT would be really an unbelievable accomplishment. Actually, i can't recall anyone within the past 40 yrs ever winning the 100 FL and the 100 BR at the Oly, much less the 100 FL, 100 BR, and 100 FR. That's a really, really rare combo even at lower levels of swimming. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Dressel just posted a 51.07 in the SCY 100 BR, 9th fastest swim of all time. In the prelims.

Ya, i saw that, he may well crack the 50 sec barrier tonight to claim a new AR. I just amazing to me that he's so fast in BR as well as FL, and FR.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Just to divert the attention of that fantastic swim, has anyone been watching Wisconsin State meet? A senior high schooler Max McHugh split a 23 BR in the MR and a 51.62 in the 100 along with a 20.34 in the 50 free! Results are here https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Results/Swim_Boys/2018/d2bstateresults.pdf

Just watching this.....6 strokes per 25m fly, 9 for back, 6 for breast, 13 for free!!! That's pulling a lot of water even after the turns!

High schooler Reese Whitley just swam a 1:43 for his 200 IM. I only counted the breaststroke strokes per length, but he was at 5 (Reese is huge)

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I am baffled by how far these guys move per stroke on breast. Is it mainly all from the legs? Clearly there is less water being pulled per stroke than fly?