Clay County native Caeleb Dressel breaks Phelps' butterfly record Dressel now fastest in world in 100-meter butterfly
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.
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.
Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
About the Authors Francine Frazier headshot
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.
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