“I actually texted Michael Phelps more than my wife during the Games” - When Caeleb Dressel explained how he received help from the swimming great

Caeleb Dressel once explained how he reached out to Michael Phelps more frequently than his wife Meghan Dressel during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. The interaction with Phelps proved invaluable to him during his campaign in Tokyo.

In an exclusive interview with TMZ Sports back in August 2021, Dressel was asked if Phelps congratulated him for his stellar performances in Tokyo. He responded to this by mentioning how Phelps helped him by being available for conversations over text. Dressel said:

"He did. I actually texted him more than Meghan during the games. It was nice being able to lean on him. He helped me a lot throughout. I texted him after a couple of events, he was more than welcome to help me figure out some stuff, but he was great."

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Caeleb Dressel racked up a total of five gold medals. He won three individual events, including the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 100m butterfly, and two team events (4x100m freestyle, and 4x100m medley).

Dressel bagged his first gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay as he swam the first leg with a split of 47.26s, contributing to the USA’s 3:08.97s performance. The American team finished above Italy (national record of 3:10.11) and Australia (3:10.22).

He then went on to amass golds in the 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, and 50m freestyle with World Record (WR) and Olympic Record (OR) performances. Dressel clocked times of 47.02s (OR), 49.45s (WR), and 21.07s (OR) respectively.

The American swimmer then concluded his campaign with a world record in the 4x100m medley relay event. He helped the USA register a timing of 3:26.78 along with team members Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, and Zach Apple.

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Caeleb Dressel and Meghan Dressel’s relationship: A timeline of events

Caeleb and Meghan Dressel with their son August and dog

Caeleb Dressel and Meghan Haila [now Dressel] met each other when they were in high school. They swam at the Bolles in Florida together as a part of the late night group, as revealed by Dressel in an interview with World Aquatics (then FINA) in 2020.

The friendship between them then blossomed into love, which eventually led to Dressel proposing to his lady love in November 2019. The couple then exchanged vows in a pre-Valentine’s day wedding on February 13, 2021, in the presence of their family and friends in Jacksonville, Florida.

They were blessed with a baby boy named August on February 17, 2024 and took to Instagram to celebrate his birth with a heartfelt joint post.

“August, you have forever changed our world and our hearts. We love you so so much little man,” they wrote.

Since August’s birth, both Meghan and Caeleb Dressel often post adorable photos and videos of their son.