Don’t compare me to Spitz and Phelps, says Dressel

budapest — Caeleb Dressel says comparisons with US swim legends Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz are premature even though he stands on the verge of matching their historic feats.

The 20-year-old Dressel became the first American swimmer to win three gold medals in one day at the world aquatic championships on Saturday.

He kicked off his historic performance at the Duna Arena by winning the 50m freestyle and the 100m butterfly golds within half an hour.

Dressel revealed he was congratulated for his jaw-droppping exploits by Phelps via an SMS text message, but is uneasy about being compared to his idol.

“I don’t want to be compared to Michael - I love Michael,” said Dressel, who swam alongside Phelps at the 2016 Olympics.

“I love him to death, he just texted me to say ‘good job’ — he’s a heckuva guy, a heck of a leader.” Dressel now has six gold medals in Budapest and could win an historic seventh on Sunday in the men’s 4x100m medley relay.

“It’s crazy, but I got mixed relays helping me out,” said Dressel. “It’s a bit of a different situation, because of the mixed relays,” said Dressel.

“I wouldn’t put myself with that group yet (with Spitz and Phelps), I’m still getting my feet wet in international swimming.

“I’m just having fun — I’m not counting medals at this point.”

Regardless of what happens on Sunday, Phelps will remain the only swimmer to have won eight Olympic golds at one games after his Beijing 2008 haul. Dressel says Saturday’s triple gold haul took a mental and physical toll.

“I think there aren’t any accidents in the sport - I had three swims within an hour and a half of each other,” he said.

“I had to be on point for all of them, so it wasn’t an accident what happened.

“It was hard that’s all I can say, I’m really tired. —