With the retirement of Michael Phelps and established stars like Missy Franklin and Ryan Lochte absent, the U.S. swim team arrived in Budapest, Hungary, for the 2017 FINA World Championships with an opening for a new star to emerge.
By the time the competition was over, Caeleb Dressel did just that, winning seven gold medals, tying a record set by Phelps in 2007. Meanwhile, Katie Ledecky hardly needed an opening to continue her dominance as she came home with six medals, five of them gold.
For their performances, Dressel and Ledecky were named male and female Athlete of the Year on Sunday night at the USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards in Los Angeles.
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