Olympic star Caeleb Dressel returns to pool in Atlanta, first meet in nearly a year

Caeleb Dressel waits to swim the men's 100 butterfly during the Speedo Atlanta Classic finals Friday, May 12, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Olympic star Caeleb Dressel returned to the competition pool after a layoff of nearly a year, placing second in the 100-meter butterfly at a low-key meet in Atlanta on Friday.

Wearing a plain white cap and red suit, he seemed pleased with his performance after touching second behind 20-year-old Canadian Josh Liendo. Dressel smiled and joked around with teammates after climbing from the water.

The runner-up time of 52.41 seconds was nearly 3 seconds slower than Dressel’s world-record performance of 49.45 at the Tokyo Olympics, where he won five gold medals.