FLEMING ISLAND - Clay High grad, Olympics and World swimming champion Caeleb Dressel stamped out a magnificent return to elite swimming with a trip to the Toyota USA National Championships in California last week by winning two gold medals and one silver.

"It feels good to get a number one next to my name, it's been such a long time," said Dressel, in a post swim interview after winning the first of his two golds in the 100 freestyle. "It felt really good to walk in and hear the crowd getting loud and I knew I had to put on a show."

Dressel, who won the 100 free in 47.7 seconds on Tuesday, July 29, returned to get his second gold on Saturday, Aug. 1, with a scintillating win in the 50 free in 21.35.

In the 100, Dressel beat current American record holder Jack Alexy who finished sixth. Alexy's American record is 46.81 set in 2025.

Dressel, 29 and swimming for Sporting Jax, who was out of most international competition for nearly four years and won gold in the 100 free at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, triumphantly hit times that were faster than his 2024 Olympic Trials events with the 100 free win his first since 2022.

Dressel was second fastest off the blocks and second to the 50 meter eventual runner-up Brooks Curry. He hit the turn in 22.26 to Dressel's 22.54, but Dressel's turn and underwater and his famous head down windmill finish from about 15-to-18 meters from the finish got him the win with a 25.16 to 25.55 edge on Curry.

In the 50 free, Dressel's start-to-finish explosion and dominance was evident with a half body length lead right from the start to the third ranked time in the world for the event in 2026. Dressel won his heat in 21.45, then went faster in the final with his well-known strong start and underwater jetting him to an insurmountable lead on the field with second place at 21.73.

Dressel holds the American record with a 21.04 set in 2021, with Cameron McEvoy of Australia owning the world record in 20.88.

In the 50 butterfly, Dressel finished second to Ilya Kharun with a 22.86 to Kharun's 22.59. Dressel holds the American record in 22.35, set in 2019.

In the 100 butterfly, Dressel had the top heat time with a 50.55 over Kharun's 50.70, but in the championship final, Kharun won in 50.05 to Dressel's 50.45.

Dressel still holds the world and American records in the 100 fly with a 49.45 set in Tokyo in 2021.

Also swimming at the Toyota USA Nationals, Fleming Island High's Noah Stotler, a recent transfer from Clay High after winning the state title in the 200 free. He finished sixth in the 18-Under 200 free with a 1:49.04 time, and was 48th overall in the 200 butterfly with a 2:02.39 time.

William Shoesmith, also from Fleming Island, and a 500 free state champion, finished 34th in the 800 free in 8:17.20 and 24th in the 1,500 free in 15:50.57.