THE OLYMPIC “QUADRENNIUM:”
A LOOK BACK AND A LOOK AHEAD Swimming World reflects on the last five years since the last Olympic Games in Rio and ponders the questions that lie ahead during the next three years leading up to Paris 2024. BY DAVID RIEDER
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ive years ago, the swimming world had just watched as the sport’s alltime greatest, Michael Phelps, finished his swimming career with another history>> At least on the men’s side, Caeleb Dressel is the new face of swimming. No, he is not Phelps, and he will never be—not making performance. In Rio, Phelps was just because he specializes in sprints while Phelps was more of a 100/200 swimmer. Like Phelps, he is versatile and not at the level of the historic Beijing dominant in multiple events, and he has shown a knack for putting forth his best performances while in the brightest of spotlights. [ Photo Courtesy: Grace Hollars / USA Today Sports ] Olympics in 2008 where he won eight gold medals and set seven world records, world’s dominant swimmer, having become just the second female but he recaptured gold in the 200 meter swimmer ever to capture gold in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle in butterfly, his signature event, and won his fourth straight gold medal one Olympics, the latter two performances coming with massive in the 200 IM (while no other man has ever even three-peated in world records. Over the next five years, Ledecky would never again an Olympics). He also was critical in three American relay gold reach that level of dominance or speed, but she has remained one of medals. With Phelps retiring, the sport would certainly have a void the world’s best. to fill, the role of world’s best now up for grabs. In Tokyo, she swam the second-best performance of her career Today, there is 25-year-old Caeleb Dressel. Dressel bristles at in the 400 free as she brought home a hard-fought silver medal, and comparisons to Phelps, and no swimmer deserves being compared to then, just over an hour after finishing a disappointing fifth in the 200 a man who won 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold. But Dressel’s free, she became the first-ever female gold medalist in the 1500 free. emergence as the world’s best swimmer was the No. 1 story of the She then used a brilliant anchor leg on the 800 free relay to elevate last five years, the “quadrennium” that became five years because the Americans to silver before winning her third straight gold medal of the COVID-delayed Olympic postponement from 2020 to 2021. in the 800 free, becoming just the third woman (along with Dawn The first major meet after the Rio Olympics, the 2017 World Fraser/100 free and Krisztina Egerszegi/200 back) to three-peat in Championships, saw Dressel tie Phelps’ record with seven gold any race. medals at one Worlds, including three on one night. Dressel But the biggest story of the Tokyo quad for the women took benefited from some relay events added to the program, but his haul longer to develop. At the past two Olympics, Australia had entered was stunning and impressive, nonetheless. the Games with gold medal threats, particularly in 2016, only to Two years later, Dressel won eight medals (six gold and two finish with very underwhelming medal tallies. In 2021, three silver) at Worlds, setting the all-time record. But his biggest moment Australians looked like gold-medal favorites in multiple individual would come at the showcase of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and events, and all three of them came through. he delivered there, too. He won three individual gold medals—in First, there was the pair of 20-year-olds. Ariarne Titmus was the 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle—to become just the swimmer who took down Ledecky in the 400 free, recording the third man after Phelps and Mark Spitz to win more than two the second-fastest time in history and just missing Ledecky’s world individual golds in one Olympics. He lowered his world record in record in the process, and she also was impressive in winning the 100 fly and led two American relays to gold medals. gold in the 200 free, just a month after recording history’s secondAt least on the men’s side, Dressel is the new face of swimming. fastest time. Meanwhile, Kaylee McKeown had recorded scorching No, he is not Phelps, and he will never be—not just because he backstroke swims seemingly every time she raced since November, specializes in sprints while Phelps was more of a 100/200 swimmer. But like Phelps, Dressel is versatile and dominant in multiple events, and she broke the 100 back world record in June. In Tokyo, she and he has shown a knack for putting forth his best performances scored gold medals three times—in the 100 back, 200 back and as while in the brightest of spotlights. part of Australia’s 400 medley relay. The Games’ star, however, was Emma McKeon, a longovershadowed sprinter who won seven medals, more than any THE WOMEN FROM DOWN UNDER DOMINATE female swimmer ever at one Olympics. She took home individual At the end of the last Olympics, Katie Ledecky was the 10
OCTOBER 2021
SWIMMINGWORLD.COM
