Disclaimer: BlueSeventy Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The BlueSeventy Swim is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
It’s fast becoming one of swimming’s most fun rivalries.
Where King-vs-Efimova centers around a topic that’s perhaps too serious and impassioned to be fun and Park-vs-Sun kind of died off in a hurry, the budding Joseph Schooling–Caeleb Dressel rivalry is fast becoming the most fun rivalry in the sport.
Schooling and Dressel were club teammates with the Bolles School Sharks. They traded a national high school record back and forth in the 100 fly over their high school careers, and were ranked as #1A and #1B in their NCAA recruiting class back in 2013. They were co-NCAA Swimmers of the Year in 2016, and put together one of the most exciting races of the year in 2017, with Dressel upsetting Schooling for the national 100 fly title.
Now, the two are trading statement swims heading into the World Championships in that same event. Dressel won U.S. Nationals a few weeks back, going 50.87 to rocket to the #1 ranking worldwide. Schooling, never a shy presence in the media, responded soon after with a claim that he had gone 50.7 in practice the day after Dressel’s swim.
While that claim felt to some like a friendly (perhaps joking) jab at his former teammate, Schooling backed up his words with a 50.96 at Austin Sectionals on Saturday night.
The defending Olympic champ in the event, Schooling originally made his name internationally by knocking off the legendary Michael Phelps at the end of the Rio Olympics. Primarily a butterflier, Schooling is not only Singapore’s best swimmer (and first Olympic gold medalist in any sport) but also the best in all of Southeast Asia. (He won 9 gold medals at the 2015 Southeast Asia Games and has 17 total golds from the 2011, 2013 and 2015 editions of the event).
Primarily a butterflier, he’ll take on the converted sprint freestyler Dressel. And after Schooling’s massive swim over the weekend (with his full taper still coming), that race should be one of the most-hyped of the 2017 World Championships.
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Wouldn’t the title be more fitting if he had “fired back” with the time he said he went days earlier? Because last time I checked going a time that’s slower than your rival doesn’t make the rival quake in their boots.
Can’t wait to see them race at Worlds.
The fastest butterflyer in the world versus Dressel.
It’s gonna be great.
Dressel is the current fastest butterflyer in the world by actual clocked times. Phelps is the fastest all-time butterflyer in the world.
Most importantly Dressel and Schooling must be in final.
Schooling will school Dressel.
Unless he comes down with Dressel-itis again.
unless Caeleb finds even more firepower in the last 15 meters .
Man! The 100 fly is going to be the most competitive event at worlds. With Le Clos, Schooling, Dressel and some other youngsters I will go grab my popcorn. Anyone could win!
200 free with Haas, Sun, Park is close
Don’t forget about Le Clos in the 200 free either…
Chad could win the 200, especially if he doesn’t swim it like a noob
I’m almost sure Chad couldn’t win. He’ll find it hard just fighting for a minor medal. There’s Guy, Haas, Yang, & Park.
Getting silver in Rio with a strategy like his shows there is a lot of room for improvement. I agree with Swimmer, he could win it if he doesn’t pull a Vlad on the front half again.
Three rounds of that go-out-fast-or-die-trying strategy killed his legs for the fly events later on.
too much competition for him to win – Sorry
I think Guy can medal.
Men’s 200 breast might have some serious business going on as well
Milak from Hungary could be that youngster 🙂
He’s got a better chance in the 200 Fly
This makes me even more exciting for the 100 fly at Worlds
excited* Sorry for the typo
“Arguably” the best swimmer in Southeast Asia? Who is arguably his competition for that distinction?
Hard to Arguably Argue with that Argue
I would argue that there are several arguable people who could argue for that distinction
lol
Should have signed that sentence above with: sincerely yours, Argue
Mmmmm….
Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên?
Quah Zheng Wen?
not much competition. 🙂
I think some people might disagree due to swimmers from the past who have performed better than him at SEA games level, such as Patricia Chan and Joscelin Yeo, and rising stars such as Anh Vien and Quah Zheng Wen, but ultimately he’s definitely the best male South-east Asian swimmer, with Quah Zheng Wen rising in the ranks and close behind