GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The calm, clear water beckoned Caeleb Dressel, who stripped to his swimsuit and jumped into an unoccupied lane for the 6-and-under boys’ 25-yard freestyle race. Upon reaching the other side of the pool, he climbed out of the water and cried: “I won a medal! I won a medal!”
In the stands, his mother, Christina, was mortified. Her son had not been entered in the race. He was at the River City recreational league meet in Jacksonville, Fla., to watch his brother, Tyler, who is five years older, compete for Chimney Lakes.
“I die laughing when I think about it now,” Dressel’s mother said, “but at the time I remember going, ‘Oh, my God, my kid just jumped in the water.