TOKYO (Reuters) – American Caeleb Dressel set an Olympic record to win gold by a fingertip in the men’s 100 metres freestyle in Tokyo on Thursday, denying Rio champion Australian Kyle Chalmers a second successive title.
Dressel set the pace down the first 50, with Chalmers and Russian Kliment Kolesnikov close behind, then fended off a thrilling late charge from the Australian to cling on for the gold in 47.02.
Chalmers turned third at the halfway mark and was pulling back stroke for stroke but left his fightback too late, taking the silver just six hundredths behind, with Kolesnikov winning bronze with 47.44.
The Olympic gold was Dressel’s fourth overall but his first in an individual event.
“I wasn’t worried about anything at all,” he said when asked about the close contest.
“It means a lot. I knew the weight was on my shoulders.”
It was the American’s second gold in Tokyo after the 4×100 freestyle relay win earlier this week.
He said the victory in the individual event was sweeter.
“It is different and I know that now,” he said.
“I didn’t want to admit it. But it’s up to yourself, there’s no one to bail you out.”
(Reporting by Martin Petty and Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
