U.S. Nationals, Day Five Men’s Finals: Caeleb Dressel Rips 21.35 in 50 Freestyle to Cap Sterling Meet
It wasn’t hard to pinpoint the top performance of prelims during the fifth day of the United States National Championships. When Caeleb Dressel fired off a 21.45 performance in the 50-meter freestyle, the 10-time Olympic medalist elicited memories of his days as the premier sprinter in the world. Does Dressel have some more speed in his 29-year-old body? The answer to that question will come in the final event of the meet.
The fastest heat of the 800 freestyle will bring together Luka Mijatovic and Ryan Erisman, who delivered a spectacular duel in the 400 freestyle on Friday night. Mijatovic prevailed in that clash, as his time of 3:43.45 was good for a National Age Group (NAG) record and nearly a second clear of the 3:44.39 of Erisman. In the 800 free, Mijatovic should make a run at the NAG standard of 7:45.19, set in 2024 by Luke Whitlock.
The other final on Saturday night is the 200 individual medley, where Owen McDonald is the top seed and will look to complement his earlier title in the 100 backstroke. Here is an event-by-event recap of the Night Five finals:
Men’s 200 Individual Medley
Apparently, Maximus Williamson likes playing with fire in the 200 individual medley. Four months ago, the University of Virginia standout qualified for the final of the 200-yard IM as the No. 8 seed at the NCAA Championships, but rose to the occasion to claim victory. He took the same route at Nationals on Saturday, qualifying eighth for the final, and then winning in 1:56.40.
Williamson was in control throughout the final, narrowly trailing Owen McDonald after the opening butterfly leg. By the backstroke to breaststroke turn, Williamson had the lead, and he continued to pad that advantage through the back half of the race. McDonald finished second, going 1:57.68, with third place claimed by Kieran Smith (1:58.36).
Jackson Hartzler won a tight battle in the 18-and-under final, as he dipped under the two-minute barrier by going 1:59.96. That effort earned Hartzler a berth to the Junior Pan Pacific Championships later this month in Vancouver.
Men’s 800 Freestyle
On Friday night, Ryan Erisman turned in the best performance of his career in the 400 freestyle, clocking 3:44. But the Cal-Berkeley athlete was tracked down in the event by Luka Mijatovic. In the final of the 800 freestyle, Erisman played the role of chaser and came away with the win when he reeled in Harvard’s Will Mulgrew. Erisman got to the wall in 7:43.53, with Mulgrew checking in at 7:45.21.
Erisman trailed Mulgrew at the 600-meter mark by a little more than a second and had that deficit cut to a half-second at the 650-meter turn. At 700 meters, Erisman was behind by only .02 and took the lead within the first few strokes of Lap 15. Erisman’s win in the 800 free complemented his victory in the 200 freestyle earlier in the meet. Mijatovic finished in third, going 7:46.57.
Men’s 50 Freestyle
A spectacular week for Caeleb Dressel ended on another high note, with the Team USA star blazing to a time of 21.35 to grab top honors in the 50 freestyle. After ripping a 21.45 mark in the morning prelims, the 29-year-old Dressel was a little better at night to earn a convincing win. Dressel was followed to the wall by Quintin McCarty (21.75) and Ukraine’s Nikita Sheremet (21.76).
Dressel enjoyed a strong five days in Southern California, proving that he will remain a factor on the road to the 2028 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. In addition to his win in the 50 freestyle, the final event of the meet, Dressel claimed the title in the 100 freestyle and was the runnerup to Ilya Kharun in the 50 butterfly and 100 butterfly. Now, it’s back to work for the back half of the Quad.
Dressel’s time moved him to No. 3 in the world rankings for 2026, trailing only Australian world-record holder Cam McEvoy (20.88) and Russian Egor Kornev (21.06).
