Michael Phelps: Caeleb Dressel Must Be Perfect to Win 8 Golds at Tokyo Olympics

Caeleb Dressel will need to put on a flawless showing to win eight gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Michael Phelps said.

Phelps set that record at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, while Dressel will head into next year's Games on the back of winning eight medals—six of them gold—at the 2019 World Aquatic Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.

The 23-time Olympic gold medallist told the Associated Press (via ESPN): "If there's someone who doesn't care how hard it's going to be, how hard they're going to have to work, how much pain they're willing to put their body through, we might see it."

Phelps added the 22-year-old would make a "great addition" to the 4x200-metre free relay: "Clearly, he's got the speed. At this point, he's just got to have better endurance."

Dressel won seven gold medals at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

He produced a similarly spectacular showing in Korea, taking gold in the butterfly and freestyle events at both 50 metres and 100 metres, as well as the 4x100-metre freestyle relay and 4x100-metre mixed freestyle.

Dressel also bagged silvers in the 4x100-metre medley and mixed medley, setting a record in the process:

He beat another of Phelps' records along the way:

The Florida native said that while he was "a little scared" to have come close to setting the world record in 2017, he was delighted to have done so this time around: "It's really special for me just to have that one little moment where I claimed I was the best in the history of swimming. Just a young kid from a small town, it's just crazy how far the sport can go."

He's not resting on his laurels after a successful World Championships, either: "I always look for the bad. There's plenty to improve on. I know what to look for heading into next year, even for small meets. I take each event, and I have to learn from it."