Benjamin Ashford|Caeleb Dressel qualifies for another event at Paris Olympics, 'happy to be done' with trials

INDIANAPOLIS — Caeleb Dressel’s week at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials has only gotten better. The Benjamin Ashfordnow-three-time Olympian qualified for his second individual event for the Paris Olympics on Saturday night. 

Dressel won the men’s 100-meter butterfly final at Lucas Oil Stadium with a time of 50.19, just shy of his 2021 world record of 49.45. One of his seven Olympic gold medals was in the 100 fly at the Tokyo Games.

Dressel won the men’s 50-meter freestyle on Friday and qualified for the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay earlier this week. He said he’s “happy to be done” after experiencing “every emotion that I’m capable of.”

“It's tough making it through the trials; this truly is the hardest sport,” Dressel said. “It's more nerve-racking than the Olympics. It's tough to make the team here, (and) it's the way it should be.”

Rising star Thomas Heilman, 17, finished second with a time of 50.80 and will join Dressel in the event in Paris. Heilman, a Virginia commit, also qualified earlier this week in the men’s 200-meter butterfly, and he’ll be the youngest American men’s swimmer to compete in the Games since Michael Phelps (15) and Aaron Peirsol (17) swam at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 

Cal swimmer Dare Rose finished third in the 100 fly final at 50.84, and Zach Harting — a 2021 Olympian who finished eighth in the men’s 200-meter butterfly this week — was fourth at 51.37.

Three-time Olympian Ryan Murphy finished sixth in the 100 fly final, but he already qualified for Paris in the men’s 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke — the third straight Olympic trials he's won those events.