Bobby Finke Honored as Swimming World American Male Swimmer of the Year
Plenty of storylines followed Bobby Finke into the final of the 1500-meter freestyle on the last night of the Olympic Games in Paris. Could he repeat as the Olympic champion? Could he snap the United States’ winless individual ledger in Paris? Could he challenge the longstanding world record?
The distance ace came through on all counts.
Although best known for his closing skill, Finke took an aggressive approach in defense of his Olympic crown. Surging to the front of the field from the start, the 24-year-old demonstrated a confidence in his training under coach Anthony Nesty and served a challenge that his opposition could not handle. After 30 laps, Finke was again the Olympic gold medalist in the 1500 freestyle, his time of 14:30.67 good for a world record.
Also the silver medalist in the 800 freestyle at the Paris Games, Finke’s excellence in the French capital has earned him Swimming World American Male Swimmer of the Year honors for 2024. It is the second time Finke has been named American Swimmer of the Year, along with 2022.
During the first half of the Paris Games, Finke dueled with Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen for what was a spectacular 16-lap battle. Ultimately, Wiffen was able to withstand Finke’s finishing power and earned the gold medal in 7:38.19, with Finke just behind in 7:38.75. When it came to the 1500 freestyle, Finke wasn’t about to give his foes a chance.
Pressing the pace the moment he hit the water, Finke controlled the race in dominant fashion, the outcome was never in doubt. All that remained uncertain was whether Finke could break Sun Yang’s world record of 14:31.02, which was set during the 2012 Olympics in London. Finke ended up cutting .35 off that standard and recorded a 3.88-second victory over Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri.
Not only did Finke go back-to-back in the event and set a world record, his effort allowed Team USA to avoid going winless in individual events. Prior to Finke’s win, the United States claimed gold in only the 400 freestyle relay.
“That really was not my strategy going into the race,” Finke said of his early speed. “I didn’t know how the race was going to play out, so I kind of saw I had a pretty decent lead at the 300 and I knew I kind of just had to keep going and hopefully try and make the guys hurt a little bit trying to catch up to me. They started catching up to me, and I was getting a little worried, but I knew I just had to keep pushing. As long as I could keep a little bit of a distance, I knew I was in good shape.”
American Male Swimmer of the Year
- Bobby Finke (United States)
- Nic Fink (United States
- Josh Liendo (Canada)
- Ilya Kharun (Canada)
- Luke Hobson (United States)
