Two weeks before the world championships, Caeleb Dressel was in tears after multiple practices going into the biggest meet of the year.
“Just because how bad I was doing,” Dressel said of his workouts. “I knew the pressure that was coming with it, what I expected of myself. So, it wasn’t an easy year, just the mental doubt I had coming into worlds.”
Four months later, Dressel stood at the podium of Sunday night’s Golden Goggles to receive two major awards — Male Race of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year, each for the second time.