The second leg of the Swimming World Cup 2023 is officially underway. After a host of heats on Friday in Athens, the swimmers have lined up for the final events for the day. However, the realm of swimming has been missing the 7x Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel who has not yet featured in this year’s World Cup.

Nevertheless, during his absence, American swimming prodigy Kieran Smith has taken center stage through his sensational form in the ongoing World Cup. Moreover, his recent performance in a men’s 400m event is also similar to that of Caeleb Dressel.

Kieran Smith makes up for Caeleb Dressel’s absence

During the Athens leg of the Swimming World Cup2023, U.S. swimmer Kieran Smith qualified for the men’s 400m freestyle finals in style with a second-place finish during the heats when he clocked a time of 3:55.02. Smith followed this with another impressive performance at the finals event with an even better time than his heats as he stopped the clock in 3:49.46 for another second-place finish.

The first place was taken by Danas Rapsys, who recorded a time of 3:48.64 and the third place went to Henrik Christiansen who clocked 3:49.70. Nevertheless, Kieran Smith amazed the audience with an impressive finish and will now look to record even better performances in his upcoming races and eventually win an Olympic gold medal next year in Paris. However, audiences still miss the flair of Caeleb Dressel, who is missing the ongoing World Cup but did make a recent appearance in Florida.

Caeleb Dressel swims in Florida amidst Swimming World Cup 2023

Caeleb Dressel may be missing from the Swimming World Cup 2023, but the Olympian made a recent appearance in Gainesville, Florida. During the early-season dual meet between Florida and Virginia, fans also spotted Dressel who was participating in an exhibition heat of 200m free. The 7x Olympic gold medalist secured a first-place finish by stopping the clock in 1:34.98 and further negative split the event by opening in 47.51 and closing in 47.47. It is still unclear when fans can witness the Olympian next in an elite-level competition, but his fans remain hopeful.

Read more: Breaking: Caeleb Dressel’s Favorite Rival Kyle Chalmers Announces Possible ‘Olympics’ Retirement Date From Swimming to Start Next Chapter of Life

As for Kieran Smith, the young swimmer aims to build on his impressive second-place finish in Athens and register more such performances this weekend. He will also look to strengthen his skills at the Hungary leg of the competition next weekend before finally making a run for an Olympic gold medal at next year’s Paris Olympics.

Watch this story: Olympic Legend Michael Phelps Joins Popular Content Creator for a Round of Matt Damon’s Favorite Game