Caeleb Dressel embraces the International Swimming League ahead of the grand finale in Las Vegas with the competition complementing his training for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
Caeleb Dressel heads into the grand finale of the International Swimming League in Las Vegas with praise for founder Konstantin Grigorishin as the inaugural professional competition reaches its climax.
Dressel is part of a 28-strong Cali Condors team which qualified with LA Current following three rounds of competition in the United States.
They will face Energy Standard and London Roar, who occupied the top-two places after the European meets, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on 20-21 December.
Dressel, who won eight medals of which two were gold at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, in July, has welcomed the ISL’s commitment to the swimmers being the focal point.
He said: “That was kind of the whole pitch of the league, it’s based around swimmers and for swimmers and really tries to capitalise on our talent and skill set.
“And we have voiced some things we feel can help the league.
“They have been all ears for the most part from what I have noticed: they are easy to get in contact with if you do have something to vocalise.
“I have spoken to Konstantin personally, he has spoken with a ton of athletes personally about getting that feedback and about how we can really capitalise on this league.
“It is what they want and they have shown that thus far: it hasn’t just been a mask to get people in the league and then shut them out.
“I have spoken with Konstantin personally: it was a 30-minute conversation about him really wanting what is best for the league but if you do have a question it is easy to find the people you can go to and voice that.”
The 23-year-old is sixth in the current MVP standings and fourth among those who will be competing in Las Vegas with Vladimir Morozov and Katinka Hosszu absent after Team Iron failed to qualify.
Energy Standard’s triple Olympic medallist Sarah Sjostrom has a sizeable lead at the top of the MVP rankings over team-mate Chad le Clos, who evoked memories of his 2012 Olympic triumph over Michael Phelps at the European derby at the London Aquatics Centre.
Dressel though is fearsome in the skins event which are back-to-back, eliminator 50m freestyle races which culminate in two swimmers in a head-to-head final worth up to triple points, having won in both his outings in Naples, Italy, and College Park, Maryland.
For Dressel, the racing also dovetails with his preparations under coach Gregg Troy at the Florida Gators for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo where he will be looking to add to the two relay gold medals he won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
He said: “I sat down with Gregg Troy and we thought this is going to be really good for training, just break up some of the heavy blocks we do and go and race some of the best of the world because I have got to get used to that at the end of the year.
“It is really just once a year when you get that in the moment, you are racing the best in the world so this really helps with that.
“You get to see good competition, and it is just about racing, honestly, the times don’t matter.
“This has been years and years of build-up working with Troy, it’s not just this year or what I do this year that is going to complement 2020.
“I go all the way back to the first year I had with Troy, the years I had at high school. It’s everything building up.
“We saw this fitting the piece of helping what I was doing for the next season leading into next year.”
13 December 2019
