Caeleb Dressel admits he is not putting any pressure on himself to record a certain time ahead of the Speedo Sub-20 challenge later this week.

Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Dressel, widely regarded as the fastest swimmer in the world, will be donning the outlawed Speedo Fastskin 2008 LZR Racer at an experimental event this week as he looks to become the first man to break the 20-second barrier for the short course 50m freestyle.

However, Dressel also revealed he has only worn the suit once in training ahead of the challenge, having been too young to wear it when it burst on to the scene to devastating effect first time around.

Ahead of the challenge, Dressel has been speaking about the unique nature of the event and about wearing a suit which was worn by 94% of the athletes who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On the challenge:

“I’m looking forward to it, it’s a fun event and I’m glad Speedo picked me to be the guy to do it. We’re taking a little bit of history with an iconic suit and bringing it into the modern day. I never got the chance to race in these – I was much too young and I didn’t weigh enough or have enough muscle to be put into one of these. They were a little too expensive for my parents’ liking!

I’m not sure what expectation I’m putting on myself and I don’t have a goal time in mind, I just want to have a good time; to get up, race and do my best and see how quick I can go. It’s about creating a buzz and ending 2020 with, hopefully, a bang! I think I can do something cool. Maybe I’ll be under 20, maybe I won’t, but I’ll have fun along the way.

On the suit:

“The first time I put one on was three weeks before I went to Budapest and when I knew this event was going to happen. I’ve messed around in one in practice, but only to see how it felt. I did one race in practice, but that was the fly, so I’ve never swam freestyle wearing it.

“It does offer an advantage and I do feel more buoyant in it, that’s the most obvious characteristic that comes with the suit.

 “Swimmers talk about “feel” a lot, but when I put this suit on I felt really good. I’m sure my feel will be thrown all over the place having been used to one suit my whole swim career. I’ll have to make some adjustments here and there, I might be a little more buoyant, the turns might be a little more restricted, but I’ll take all of that into account. Hopefully I can get a warm-up in the suit. I don’t think the difference will be too dramatic.

“It felt like a super suit. I actually just watched all the Iron Man movies whilst in Budapest and that’s what it felt like when I put the suit on – like Iron Man putting his suit on. It’s a cool suit, you look good, your confidence goes up, and you feel good in the water.”

On being the fastest:

“For me, it’s not about being the fastest, it’s about being the fastest version of myself that I can be – that’s where I find my enjoyment in the sport.

“I just want to chase perfection – and I know and understand that I’ll never reach it – but for me my career is just about reaching my full potential in the sport.

“I don’t think I’m at my peak right now – I don’t even know if I’m close, to be honest – but I’m still learning every year and enjoying the sport.”

On future events:

“I think it’s hugely important that we continue to promote the sport in exciting ways, even with what I’m doing here, there could be more of these across the board. If swimming is done right it’s a really cool event to watch. With the addition of the International Swimming League, the sport now gets showcased as a professional sport all-year round.

“If I can do my piece with this event then hopefully people will tune in and watch it and get excited about it. There’s definitely a market in swimming, it’s a fun and exciting sport.”

Speedo will release footage of the Speedo Sub-20 challenge in a specially-commissioned video which will be published across its social media channels at 9am PST/5pm GMT on December 10^th.

About Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer

Launched in February 2008, the LZR Racer suit was a high-tech swimsuit made from 50% polyurethane which caused controversy in 2008 as a series of world records were set by swimmers wearing it.

For three years, Speedo worked with everybody from universities and sporting institutes to NASA scientists to create the LZR Racer, whilst experimenting with over 60 materials.

The result was the LZR Racer which reduced drag, maximised muscle support and helped keep swimmers free in their range of motion.

The suit reduced drag (water resistance) by 38% compared with the ordinary LYCRA suits which were available on the market, resulting in an increase in speedo of approximately 4%.

Hugging the body up to 70 times tighter than other suits the suit was a huge success, with 94% of all swimming golds won at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games won by athletes wearing the suit.

“I feel like a rocket”, said swimming superstar Michael Phelps, who helped the test the suits and subsequently won an unprecedented eight golds at the Games.

So effective was the LZR Racer that Speedo offered free suits to any athlete at the 2008 Games that wanted one. They ended up giving away more than 3,000 – included swimmers sponsored by rival brands who all made the decision to wear them.

Suits that were not completely made from textiles were subsequently outlawed in 2010.

About Speedo®

The world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations, and supports swimming from grass-roots through to the elite level. In the 1920s Speedo® made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008 Speedo® redefined swimwear again with Fastskin® LZR RACER® – the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuit ever created. 2011 saw Speedo unveil another world first with the Fastskin Racing System – a cap, goggle and suit designed to work together as one. Speedo® is owned by Speedo Holdings B.V and distributed in over 170 countries around the world. To find out more visit:www.speedo.com