GWANGJU, South Korea – Clay County native Caeleb Dressel broke Michael Phelps' world record in the 100-meter butterfly on Friday at the world swimming championships.
The American won his semifinal heat in 49.50 seconds -- 0.32 seconds better than Phelps' mark set at the 2009 world meet in Rome at the height of the high-tech suit era.
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Dressel was out in 22.83 seconds -- 0.53 seconds under Phelps' pace -- and came home in 26.67 to lead eight men into Saturday's final.
He was a whopping 1.44 seconds ahead of Andrei Minakov of Russia, the second-quickest qualifier.
It's the second world record of Phelps' to fall at this year's worlds. Kristof Milak of Hungary won the 200 fly in 1:50.73, bettering Phelps' mark of 1:51.51 also set in Rome.
Dressel, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was a swimming star at Clay High School and the University of Florida.
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A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.
