Meghan Dressel has been a supportive presence for her husband, swimmer Caeleb Dressel, since 2013. The 27-year-old athlete, who famously won five gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, added another to his collection at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Caeleb and his teammates secured Team USA’s first gold medal in the men’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay on Saturday, July 27. For Caeleb, the highlight was having his wife and their 5-month-old son, August, there to witness the victory.
“It was really special,” Caeleb told reporters after the race. “My son watching me win a gold medal means everything.”
He added, “In that last 50 meters, all I wanted was to get a gold medal for the team. It’s exactly what we came here to do, and we accomplished it in great style.”
Meghan and Caeleb’s relationship began in high school in 2013 when they were both competitive swimmers in Florida, competing on the same team.
Caeleb shared with FINA Aquatics World Magazine in April 2020 that they “swam at [the] Bolles [School Sharks] together in the late-night group because we didn’t attend school there.”
He noted that Meghan “mainly did breaststroke” but eventually stopped competing to pursue her dream of becoming a child-family counselor.
The Paris Olympics marked the couple’s third time attending the Games together but their first as parents, following the birth of their son August in February.
Caeleb and Meghan married in February 2021 after two Olympics and nearly a decade together. Caeleb previously represented Team USA at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Meghan was seen cheering from the sidelines, holding August in her arms. The family was also present for Caeleb’s significant moments, including his gold medal win.
Caeleb and Meghan’s journey as a couple started in 2013 when they met as competitive swimmers in Florida.
Meghan reflected on their early days in an August 2021 interview with First Coast News, mentioning, “We grew up swimming together but lived 45 minutes apart.”
In 2020, she posted a photo of them as teenagers on Instagram for Valentine’s Day, expressing her long-standing love for him since 2013. She compared their love story to the one in the movie *The Notebook*, highlighting their enduring bond.
In 2016, Meghan supported Caeleb during the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Despite their long-distance relationship, which lasted several years, Meghan remarked to *Odyssey* in September 2016 that the distance had only strengthened their bond.
The couple got engaged in November 2019, which Meghan described on Instagram as the “easiest yes” of her life. Caeleb proposed at their old meeting spot at the Shands Pier, surprising Meghan, who thought they were there for a photo shoot.
They tied the knot on February 13, 2021, in an outdoor ceremony in Jacksonville, Florida, surrounded by family and friends.
In February 2024, Meghan gave birth to their son, August. She shared the joyful news on Instagram on February 19, describing the birth as a “swift and powerful labor” and expressing gratitude for an intervention-free birth.
She described August as a “perfect, healthy, chunky baby boy.” Later, Meghan and August joined Caeleb in Paris, where they watched him win another gold medal for Team USA.
Reflecting on fatherhood, Caeleb told Olympics.com in July that the experience had taught him patience and the importance of slowing down.
“The only two things I’ve been able to do are father stuff and swimming in the run-up to Paris 2024,” he said, describing the experience as fulfilling and expressing his joy in stepping into the role alongside Meghan.
