Bobby Finke becomes first male American swimmer to win individual gold at Paris Olympics, continues 120-year streak

By Nancy Singh

Modified Aug 04, 2024 17:49 GMT

American swimmer Bobby Finke has proved his calibre as a formidable swimmer with a dominant performance in the 1500m event at the Paris Olympics. He became the first male swimmer from the US team to nab gold in the event, his first gold in Paris this fortnight.

On Sunday, Finke set a new world record in the men's 1500m discipline by recording a time of 14:30.67. He surpassed Sun Yang's record from 2012 by waving 0.35 off the latter's timing.

He gracefully defended his Olympic title by defeating Gregorio Paltrinieri and Daniel Wiffen, who clocked a time of 14:34.55 and 14:39.63 respectively. More importantly, The 24-year-old continued America's 120-year streak by winning individual gold at the Olympics.

The US men have always won at least one individual swimming gold at the Olympics since 1900, and the legacy was continued by Bobby Finke in the last opportunity to do so.

"Bobby Finke wins the 1500m freestyle in 14:30.67, taking .35 off Sun Yang's world record from 2012. Finke wins the first individual US men's swimming gold in Oaris in the last opportunity to do so. Last time no US man won individual swimming gold: 1900 (excl.1980 boycott)," NBC reported Nick Zaccadri wrote on Twitter.

After securing the win, the swimmer revealed the tricks taught by his coach. He said: (via TheGuardian.com)

"My coaches told me just to go out early and it ended up working pretty well."

Bobby Finke reflects on his swimming journey

Bobby Finke comes from a swimming background, with his father Joe Finke being a swimmer-turned-coach and his mother being a collegiate swimmer who competed for the Ball State University. Along with this, both his sisters Autumn Finke and Ariel Finke are also involved in the sport in their respective colleges.

Recently, the 24-year-old opened up about how he has been influenced by his family background ever since he was a child in an interview with Olympics.com. He revealed that he always wanted to be better than his sisters and competed with them while he grew up.

"Swimming is definitely something that runs in the family. I really liked following in my older sisters' footsteps," Finke said. "You know, as a younger brother, you want to be better than your sisters. So, I competed with them a lot as I grew up, and they really shaped the way I perceive and go after the sport to this day."

Apart from the 1500m gold, the swimmer also nabbed silver in the 800m discipline at the Paris Olympics.