Tokyo Olympics: Caeleb Dressel wins his THIRD gold of the Tokyo Olympics in the 100m butterfly

Dazzling Dressel! American swimmer Caeleb wins his THIRD gold of the Tokyo Olympics after breaking his OWN world record in the 100m butterfly to hold off Hungary… and he could still win three more medals!

Caeleb Dressel won his third gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics with a world record in the 100-meter butterfly Saturday.

Dressel led right from the start and held off Hungary’s Kristof Milak to touch in 49.45 seconds, breaking the mark of 49.50 that the American set at the 2019 world championships in Gwangju.

Milak, winner of the 200 fly, earned the silver with a blistering 49.68. The bronze went to Switzerland’s Noe Ponti.

Caeleb Dressel won his third gold medal of the Tokyo Olympic in the 100m butterfly  

Dressel’s victory came in the first of three races on his morning schedule.

He was also set to compete in the semifinals of the 50 freestyle before returning to the deck one more time to anchor the 4×100 mixed medley relay, a new Olympic event that features two men and two women on each team.

Dressel is expected to take part in two more finals Sunday, the last day of the swimming competition at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Dressel won his third gold medal at these games, including the first two individual victories of his Olympic career.

He held off Hungary's Kristof Milak to break his own world record time of 49.45 on Saturday

He held off Hungary’s Kristof Milak to break his own world record time of 49.45 on Saturday

Dressel is in contention to become of the most successful swimmers at an individual Games

Dressel is in contention to become of the most successful swimmers at an individual Games

If Dressel sweeps his events, he’ll become the only the the fourth swimmer and fifth athlete overall to win six gold medals at a single Olympics.

Swimming icon Michael Phelps did it twice, capturing six golds at the 2004 Athens Games before setting the record with eight golds in Beijing four years later.

Phelps broke the mark held by Mark Spitz, who won seven golds at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Also winning six golds were East German swimmer Kristin Otto in 1988 and gymnast Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus in 1992, when he represented the Unified Team that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It was a great day in the pool for the USA as Katie Ledecky also claimed gold in 800m freestyle

It was a great day in the pool for the USA as Katie Ledecky also claimed gold in 800m freestyle

It was a big day at the pool, with Katie Ledecky also claiming gold in her final event of these games. Ledecky was the big favorite to win the 800 freestyle, an event she hasn’t lost since 2010. 

She is now the first female swimmer to win six individual golds in her Olympic career, breaking a tie with Hungary’s Krisztina Egerszegi.

Ledecky already won the 1,500 free in Tokyo, to go along with two silver medals and a fifth-place finish in the 200 freestyle.

Dressel’s victory came in the first of three races on his morning schedule. He’ll also compete in the semifinals of the 50 freestyle before returning to the deck one more time to anchor the 4×100 mixed medley relay, a new Olympic event that features two men and two women.

He’ll likely dive into the pool with a big deficit since he’s the only man in the field to swim the freestyle leg.

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