Tokyo 2020 - Caeleb Dressel: USA swimmer wins first individual Olympics gold in 100m freestyle final
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ByEurosport
Updated 29/07/2021 at 05:47 GMT
Caeleb Dressel, who was the red hot favourite going into the men's 100m freestyle final, delivered on the expectations. The American led for the entirety of the race and finished as a gold medallist, also achieving an Olympic record time. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.
‘The eagle has landed!’ – Caeleb Dressel breaks Olympic record to win 100m freestyle
USA's Caeleb Dressel has won his first individual gold medal at an Olympic Games after edging out Australia's Kyle Chalmers by 0.06 seconds in the men's 100m freestyle final.
Dressel won gold at Rio 2016 in the 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays, but was seeking his first solo medal at a Games having won his third Olympic gold at Tokyo in the 4x100m freestyle.
The 24-year-old achieved it in some style at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in the Thursday morning session, finishing in an Olympic record time of 47.02.
Chalmers managed to come back from third at the 50m split to snatch silver (47.08) ahead of Russia Olympic Committee's Kliment Kolesnikov by 0.36 seconds (47.44).
An emotional Dressel said post-race: "It’s been a really tough year, it’s been so hard, so to get this result makes me so happy."
The Floridian was straight out of the traps and held a 0.1 lead after the first 50m with Kolesnikov and Chalmers trailing in second and third respectively.
It was a furious finish as Dressel surged to gold while Chalmers, right at the end, stole silver off Kolesnikov.
The American was delighted with his performance and pointed up to the sky with a huge smile on his face after realising what he had done.
"The eagle has landed!" Lizzie Simmonds said on Eurosport commentary.
"What a swim from Dressel, he was the firm favourite going into that but there was some really big hitters. Chalmers, reigning champion in this event, is a silver medallist here.
"Dressel, we knew he meant business from the first 25m. He has exceptional skills around the walls including his starts, his turns and I thought Chalmers was coming back into it, he was so close.
"Dressel finally gets an individual gold medal at an Olympic games."
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