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The 2024 Olympic Games are less than two weeks away. The day after the opening ceremonies on July 26th, the swimming competition kicks off at La Défense Arena in Paris. Among the 854 swimmers slated to compete over the nine day affair, there are former Olympic champions hoping to write another chapter in their comeback to the sport after taking extended breaks in the three years since the Tokyo Games.

Caeleb Dressel, United States

At the Tokyo Olympics, Caeleb Dressel won five gold medals, bringing his career Olympic gold medal count to seven. A year later, Dressel dropped out of the 2022 World Championships in the middle of the competition for mental health-related reasons. He was out of the water for almost a year and resurfaced on the national level at the 2023 U.S. Nationals. He did not qualify for the United States’ World Championship team, but the meet served as a jumping-off point.

This season, Dressel improved at nearly every meet he swam, which culminated in his making his third Olympic team at last month’s U.S. Olympic Trials. He qualified by winning the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly, as well as placing third in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. All of his finals times marked his fastest efforts since 2022, another sign of improvement for Dressel as he completed a huge part of his comeback to the sport by qualifying for Team USA.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs just in the time that I’ve been here [at U.S. Olympic Trials],” Dressel said when he sat down with the media at the conclusion of his racing schedule at the trials in Indianapolis. “I am happy with a lot of my swims and to be back to a place that I wanted to be with the sport is exceptional and I’m really proud of myself for that.”

Simone Manuel, United States

During the U.S. Olympic Trials medal ceremony for the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay qualifiers, Simone Manuel was visibly overcome. When asked what made her so emotional, she responded “I think anybody who really knows my journey knows how hard it was…going to practice and getting my butt kicked every day, missing intervals, having to modify things until I finally got strong enough to complete a whole week of work. I basically started from ground zero.”

Prior to the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, Manuel was diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, which she disclosed during the meet after missing out on qualifying in the 100-meter freestyle, the event where she was the defending Olympic champion. She managed to make the Olympic team on the last day of the meet in the 50-meter freestyle but has been open about the fact that she did not enjoy her experience at the Tokyo Games.

After those Games, Manuel took a break from the sport. During that time, she relocated to train with Bob Bowman and a loaded training group at Arizona State University. She returned to competition in January 2023 and decided to skip 2023 U.S. Nationals as she continued her comeback to the sport.

The 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials marked her first major qualification meet since the Olympic Trials three years ago. Manuel made the team after what she described as only “18 months of good work.” After placing third in the 100-meter freestyle and securing her spot for the relay, she shared that “it’s really important for [her] to look back and be proud of [herself] for continuing to fight through this process and believe in [herself].”

On the last day of the meet, Manuel also qualified in the 50-meter freestyle, adding an individual event to her Olympic slate.

Penny Oleksiak, Canada

At the 2016 Olympics, Manuel and Penny Oleksiak tied for the 100-meter freestyle gold medal. Like Manuel, Oleksiak—who is Canada’s most decorated Olympian—has been on her own comeback journey this Olympic cycle. Oleksiak made her Olympic debut in Rio at 16 years old. Her 100-meter freestyle gold medal made her Canada’s youngest Olympic champion.

For the better part of the last two years, Oleksiak has been dealing with knee and ankle injuries. She has been severely limited in her ability to compete and was forced to pull out of the 2023 World Championships.

Oleksiak moved training bases, joining the Mission Viejo Nadadores, based out of southern California. She began racing again earlier this year, with the aim of qualifying for another Olympic Games.

She missed out on an individual berth for Paris but still qualified for her third Olympics as a member of Canada’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay. It will be her third Olympic Games and she’ll be a part of the relay’s bid for the Olympic podium.

Adam Peaty, Great Britain

Adam Peaty has made himself synonymous with the men’s 100-meter breaststroke. He’s the world record holder and the only man faster than 57 seconds (56.88). He’s the two-time defending Olympic champion and went unbeaten in the event from 2014 to 2022.

But the road to attempting the three-peat has not been easy for Peaty. He broke his foot in 2022 and saw his win streak in the event snapped at the Commonwealth Games shortly after. He withdrew from the 2023 World Championships for mental health reasons and has been open in many interviews since about those struggles. In May 2023, he told BBC “I took a break because I was on this endless search of a gold medal or a world record and I looked into the future and I said ‘ok, if I do get that is my life fixed or any better? No.’”

Even then, Peaty was clear that he was still planning to race at the Paris Games. He made Great Britain’s team with his fastest time since 2021 and is now scheduled to take on new rivals that have burst onto the scene in his absence.

Kristof Milak, Hungary

Kristof Milak won gold in the 200-meter butterfly and silver in the 100-meter butterfly at the Tokyo Games. A year later at the World Championships, he achieved something few swimmers do in their career: he set a world record in the 200-meter butterfly in front of a home crowd in Budapest, Hungary. It was a big goal for him, as he’d missed the world record at the Olympics.

A year later, Milak withdrew from the 2023 World Championships. In a translated statement from the Hungarian Federation, Milak said “I’ve hit rock bottom.”

He’s had an up-and-down season since then, pulling out of meets but also showing signs of improvement. Of all the former Olympic champions on the comeback trail in Paris, it’s his form that’s the biggest question mark. He’s entered both butterfly events and will face stiff competition in both as he looks to return to the Olympic podium.


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