JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Green Cove Springs native Caeleb Dressel was back in the pool on Friday continuing his three-Olympics odyssey.
But it was a rough day in his glittering career.
Dressel finished sixth in the 50m Freestyle final with a time of 21.61 seconds.
The eight-time gold medalist's 51.57 second time also led to a 13th place finish overall in the men's 100m butterfly semifinal, meaning he misses Saturday's final.
A silver lining: The Clay High grad was part of the mixed medley team (Regan Smith, Charlie Swanson, Abbey Weitzel) that posted the top time in the prelims (3:40.98). The final is 3:58 p.m. Saturday.
In the 100m Butterfly prelims, Dressel's 50.83-second time was sixth best. Dressel holds both the Olympic and World Records in the 100m butterfly stemming from his 2020 Tokyo Olympics performance (49:45).
Dressel already has one gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics and he's still pushing for another trip to the podium.
In the 50m freestyle, he tied for 13th in qualifying times in the prelims Thursday morning to advance, then landed in the top eight Thursday afternoon, with the fifth best time overall (21:58). Dressel holds the Olympic Record in the 50m Freestyle at 21.09 seconds for his Tokyo 2020 gold medal-winning performance.
Australian Cameron McEvoy won gold in the event, swimming a 21.25 time.
Last weekend, Dressel pulled ahead with a massive lead in the anchor leg to secure the gold in the 4x100m relay. It was Dressel's eighth gold medal.
You can watch all events on NBC 12 Friday.
