PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
New swim sensation Caeleb Dressel shuns Phelps comparison
Tokyo — Caeleb Dressel is making swimming sexy again and has been described as the "Usain Bolt of the pool", just do not call him the new Michael Phelps. The 21-year-old, who in 2017 became only the second swimmer to win seven gold medals at a single world championships after Phelps in 2007, admits to being flattered by comparisons to his countryman but insists he is his own man. "What an honour, if people want to make that comparison," Dressel said at the Pan Pacific championships in Tokyo. "It doesn’t bother me, but it’s not something I’m striving to be."
Dressel joined forces with Phelps in the latter’s final Olympics in Rio two years ago to win gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Phelps retired after Rio as the most decorated athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals, a staggering 23 of them gold. But despite being billed as the next big thing in swimming, Dressel was anxious to play down the hype two years before the 2020 Tokyo Games, where celebrity beckons for the tatto...
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