Jack Alexy breaks Caeleb Dressel’s 100m free American record at World Aquatics Championships 2025

Jack Alexy made history at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, breaking the American record in the men's 100m freestyle. Alexy competed in the 100m semi-finals on Wednesday, posting a time of 46.81 seconds to finish first and qualify for the finals, which will be on July 31st, Thursday. This marked the fastest time in the event for an American since Caeleb Dressel recorded 46.96 seconds at the 2019 World Championships in South Korea.

Jack Alexy is regarded as one of the rising swimming stars in the United States. Alexy made his breakthrough on the international stage at the 2023 World Championships, where he won a remarkable five medals, including a gold medal in the 4x100m Medley Relay and three silver medals in the 100m Freestyle, 4x100m Freestyle Mixed Relay and the 50m Freestyle, respectively. Alexy would go on to establish himself as one of the best swimmers in the nation by winning an Olympic gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games.

Alexy faced tough competition from Romanian swimmer David Popovici and Egor Kornev, who finished behind the American in second and third, respectively, with times of 46.84 and 47.29. The 22-year-old will be looking to add to his impressive medal tally by winning at the 100m freestyle finals.

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Jack Alexy on overcoming disappointment in competitive swimming

Jack Alexy at the USA Swimming National Championships - Source: Getty

Jack Alexy recently revealed how he dealt with obstacles in competitive swimming. In an interview on the Unfiltered Waters podcast, Alexy said that his time at the University of California was key in the process, saying: (29:55 onwards)

"Yeah, definitely a long journey finding that trust within myself. I think part of that was definitely due to the training group I had at Cal. When I first got here, Bjorn Seeliger—he’s currently a fifth-year now—really took me under his wing and held me accountable. There was this relationship where we were competitive every day but also great friends. I could talk to him during practice about certain technique things we’d been working on, and then we’d get competitive about it and kind of push each other."

"In addition to that, I think having experience under elite coaches and an elite training group really allows you to find your stroke, find your confidence, and figure out what works for you. That’s kind of what I did."

Before the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Alexy competed at the 2025 National Championships, where he won the 100m Freestyle and 50m Freestyle events.