photo by: Associated Press

United States' swimmer Andrew Michael starts in his heat in the men's 50m butterfly at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Sunday, July 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Michael Andrew just missed out on a trip to the podium Monday morning at the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.

Andrew, who lives in Lawrence, finished in fourth place in the men’s 50-meter butterfly with a time of 22.80. Andrew was 0.45 behind Caeleb Dressel, who became the first American man to ever win this event at Worlds.

Dressel recorded the second-fastest time in history and an American record in the non-Olympic event with a mark of 22.35. He now has two gold medals in his first two events, and is a defending world champion in six remaining events. Dressel won seven gold medals at the 2017 World Championships, which did not include the 50-meter butterfly.

Entering this week, Andrew was actually the top seed in the event and appeared poised to make history. The three medalists from 2017 were not competing this summer, and Andrew set the World Junior Record (23.22) in the event just two years ago. Andrew also upset Dressel in the 50-meter freestyle at the U.S. national championships last summer.

Andrew qualified for the final in the 50 butterfly by posting a time of 22.95 during the preliminary race. After his performance in the final, Andrew is now the second-fastest American ever behind Dressel.

Oleg Kostin set a Russian record during his runner-up finish in the men’s final with a time of 22.70. Nicholas Santos of Brazil secured the bronze medal with a mark of 22.79.