Dressel books 50m free Olympic title defense [Video]

Caeleb Dressel booked a chance to defend his 50m freestyle Olympic crown in Paris with a victory on Friday at the US Olympic swimming trials.

Dressel, whose five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 included the 50m and 100m free and 100m fly, booked his first individual swim in Paris after missing out with a third-place finish in the 100m free.

The 27-year-old American, who owns a total of seven Olympic golds, stepped away from the sport abruptly in 2022 then failed to make the US team for the world championships in 2023.

He looked in vintage form at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, exploding off the blocks to win the 50 free in 21.41sec.

Chris Guiliano, winner of the 100m free and runner-up in the 200m free this week, was second in 21.69 — with Matt King shut out of the Olympic berths …