GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- He's a local, a former Gator and won two gold medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio: Caeleb Dressel continues to turn heads.
Dressel broke eight American records and became the first man in American history to break 18 seconds in the 50m freestyle. He's also the first man in American history to break 40 seconds in the 100m freestyle.
What makes him so fast?
Dressel's coach at UF, Gregg Troy, recruited him to Florida and coached him through the Olympics.
Troy allowed First Coast News a look at Caeleb behind the scenes at practice.
Troy said Dressel is entering into the leagues of Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady, only in the swimming world, of course. And Troy has the credentials to make such an evaluation.
At Florida, Troy has coached 47 Gator Olympians, who total 78 appearances at the last five Olympic Games. Those athletes -- in all -- won 23 medals, 11 of them gold.
Troy said Dressel is laser-focused on instructions.
"He listens," Troy said.
Sounds basic, but he said true listening requires the talent to change the tiniest angle in the water or the position of your toes perfectly on the starting blocks and then fly down the pool.
Troy said, first of all, Dressel is the fastest swimmer in the world off the blocks to 15 meters. That's the point when you see a swimmer's head first pop up out of the water after he dives into the pool.)
When Dressel is "really cooking it," Troy said he hits 15 meters under four seconds.
Troy stands by Dressel on the starting block and points to his arched back and head. He says notice how he watches his toes. He doesn't look up.
"We've come to the conclusion that we're much better off ... getting off the starting block like a track star," he said.
He said watch Dressel's hands once he's in the water. When he shoots off the blocks, he enters the water in a perfect or nearly perfect position. And the proof?
"When he swims really well there are almost no bubbles" under his hands, he said. "That means his angle of entry was correct coming in. The hand is very clean."
It's impossible to overemphasize the importance of that first push into the water. Troy said, "In fact, when he broke 18 seconds, there was almost no head movement except toward the water." Troy said he studies every second of every key race in retrospect.
Another reason why Dressel is so fast could be because of his vertical jump.
UF Swim Sprint Coach Steve Jungbluth said Dressel has increased his vertical jump to 41 inches. That's up eight inches from when he came to the UF program. Typically, Jungbluth said if a swimmer can improve by four inches, that's good.
Jungbluth also describes another reason Dressel is so fast: "As humans, we're not great aquatic animals." But Dressel seems to be amphibious, he said. "I look at videos of seals and penguins and sharks. It's almost as if he's starting to push and escape the limitations we humans have in water."
And from Dressel's perspective? He said he sees himself operating on instinct, like a predator.
"I think when a tiger sees a gazelle, he doesn't think. He just goes," Dressel said.
Of course, analyzing the complexities of Dressel's swimming success could take pages and pages, but even just a few highlights are impressive enough.
And there's one more thing: His sprint coach said he noticed when Dressel was a freshman, he'd always say grace at meals. He figured over time, Dressel would just drop that practice, especially with a big group of peers.
But no.
"It struck me," Jungbluth said. "That's a core value his parents raised him with. It was interesting because he was doing it in front of 30 guys. Some change habits. He never did."
Dressel graduates this year and has his eyes on the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. Meanwhile, he is choosing among several big sports sponsors and hetraining at at UF with 12-time Olympic medal winner and fellow Gator Ryan Lochte.
In Lochte's words, Caeleb Dressel is "mind-blowing."
