Rio - Clay High School graduate Caeleb Dressel got Clay County's first Olympic gold medal on Sunday doing what he does best as a swimmer; start fast, scare the field and hold off the rest of the field. With that strategy, Dressel gave Olympic swimming icon Michael Phelps enough space on his second leg of the mens 4 x 100 freestyle relay to push the American team ahead for their eventual gold medal win over defending gold medalists France.

On Tuesday, Dressel doubled down in the 100 freestyle heats with the second fastest qualifying time; a 47.91 which was also a best ever time, then made his first Olympic individual final with a scintillating semifinal finish of 47.97 to take the fifth fastest time of the night. Dressel and American teammate Nathan Adrian, the defending Olympic 100 free gold medalist, both made the final with Adrian rebounding from a disastrous 16th place preliminary finish of 48.58 to top the semifinal field with the fastest split of the night; a 47.83. The 100 free final was scheduled for Wednesday evening.

In the 4 x 100 freestyle relay held on Sunday, Dressel popped off the fastest start off the block, the fastest first 50 before handing off to Phelps for the second leg.

The American team got a riveting second leg from Phelps to win the gold medal in 3:09.92. That time held off France's 3:10.53 and Australia's bronze medal split of 3:11.37. Ironically, France defeated the United States in 2012 with a 3:09.93 winning time.

In the moments before the Rio Olympics 4 x 100 mens relay final on Sunday, the American team lineup was still in question as the four members were to be determined from six athletes with Dressel, a junior at the University of Florida with four Southeastern Conference titles, three NCAA titles and a recent second place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials 100 freestyle, being one.

In the final count, Dressel's magnificent reaction time from the starting gun blast to the water was a deciding factor in putting the University of Florida junior on the leadoff leg. Dressel was first off the block, first in the water and first to the 50 meter turn. After his 22.77 split at the turn, he just held on as the rest of the field crept up to him. Dressel gave second leg Michael Phelps a second place start by just about a hair off the pace. Dressel's 48.10 was just off of France's Mehdy Metella's 48.08 who had the fastest leadoff leg for the event.

"I just wanted to get my hand on the wall and do the best I could for our relay and everyone watching, " said Dressel, in a post race interview.

Dressel delivered a first off the block start, a first to the wall at the 50 meter mark and a personal best time of 48.1 seconds that passed the race to the legendary Michael Phelps for the second leg. Dressel was not the fastest split of the leg, but it was close enough to allow Phelps to assert his magic.

“It felt good to get—the last 400 free relay of my career—this thing around my neck,” Phelps said, pointing to his gold medal during the awards ceremony. “We got this back.”

Gold medals have been a part of Phelps' swimming career for a long time and the 23 lifetime medal winner delivered with an astounding flip turn and underwater, the part after a flip turn that a swimmer stays underwater before surfacing to start his swim, put the American mens 4 x 100 relay team in front of the pack with a 47.12 split.

"I wanted to hit the wall good and get under the wake of the swimmers next to me," said Phelps, who executed the same strategy in 2012 to give the American team the lead, but France's Yannick Agnel outkicked American anchor swimmer Ryan Lochte to the finish for the win. "I stayed under longer to get to the clean water in front."

The second rookie of the night, Ryan Held, himself just a junior at North Carolina State, was to battle with a pool full of sprint specialists with years of competition time.

Held held his own ground with a best 47.73 split and gave defending 100 meter gold medalist Nathan Adrian the final leg with about a half body advantage.

“I was just thinking, whatever I do, don’t lose any ground,” Held said, in a post race interview. “I knew I was going to be one of the slower legs tonight, but I was thinking, whatever I do, do not lose any ground. I had faith in Nathan that he was going to bring it home.”

Adrian blasted off the block, hit the wall in an amazing 22.10 and provided a stunning 46.97 finish to bring the gold medal back to America after their stunning defeat to France in 2012. Adrian, the Olympic Trials champion, had the fastest American split of the season with a 47.00 early in May and will compete with Dressel in Tuesday's 100 meters freestyle preliminaries.

"I had a feel that someone was going to challenge me," said Adrian. "This is the Olympics and everyone wants that gold medal."

In Tuesday's preliminary and semifinal action, Dressel continued his strategy of blasting the first 50 then fending off challengers in the second 50. In his preliminary heat, Dressel was ahead until the 85 meter mark where Australia's Kyle Chambers, an 18 year old swimmer, surged in the final 10 meters to out-touch Dressel with a 47.90 split with Dressel in at 47.91. Adrian survived elimination with a pedestrian 48.58 split, well off his season best of 47.00 prior to the Olympics, to finish 16th and just make the final.

"I had a long night after the relay which was as emotional a race as I've ever been in," said Adrain after his Herculian semifinal heat re-established the defending gold medalist as the man to beat. "It's all part of the process."

In the semifinals, Dressel again took the first 50 meters hard in his heat, but was not the first swimmer to the wall as Russian Vladmir Morozov got to the wall first.

In the final 50, Dressel maintained position near the top three to eventually finish third at 47.97 with Adrian, in lane eight by the pool wall, first at 47.63 and Australian Cameron McEvoy second at 47.93. Five of the eight finalists finished under 48 seconds. In the prelims, Dressel was one of just two who had splits under 48 seconds.