Bobby Finke made waves for the US men’s swimming team on Sunday night, clinching gold and shattering the world record in the 1500m freestyle. The excitement grew even more for the Americans moments later when the women’s team set a new record in the 4x100m medley.
Finke’s victory marked the first individual gold for the US men in swimming during these Olympics. Had they not won, it would have been the first time since 1900 that an American man went without an individual gold in the pool, excluding the 1980 Moscow Games due to the US boycott.
Finke maintained a world record pace throughout the race and surged in the final lap to secure the milestone. He completed the race in 14 minutes and 30.67 seconds, breaking the previous record of 14:31.02 held by China’s Sun Yang from the 2012 London Olympics.
Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri took silver with a time of 14:34.55, while Daniel Wiffen of Ireland, the race favorite and 800m freestyle champion, struggled and finished with bronze in 14:39.63, just ahead of Hungary’s David Betlehem.
Lilly King redeemed herself after a disappointing individual performance by propelling the US women’s team ahead during the breaststroke leg of the 4x100m medley. Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske, stars at these Games, wrapped up the event in 3:49.63, surpassing the previous record of 3:50.40 set by the US at the 2019 World Championships. Regan Smith initiated the relay with the backstroke segment, finally earning her first Olympic gold.
Katie Ledecky, Finke’s training partner, cheered from the crowd as she witnessed her teammates achieve two world records.
Following the race, Finke shared that he was advised to start strong, saying, “My coaches told me just to go out early and it ended up working pretty well.”
Finke became the first male swimmer to win back-to-back golds in the demanding 30-lap event since Australia’s Grant Hackett in 2000 and 2004, and the first American since Mike Burton in 1968 and 1972. The 24-year-old also claimed gold in the 800m freestyle during the Tokyo Games.
With this victory, Finke set the third swimming world record of the Olympics, providing a much-needed boost for the American team, who currently leads the overall medal count, despite facing a series of challenging outcomes with some top swimmers.
However, it wasn’t entirely positive news for the US men’s team, as their impressive 64-year unbeaten streak in the men’s 4x100m medley was ended by China, who secured a significant victory in the following race.
The Chinese team of Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun, and Pan Zhanle narrowly defeated the US, finishing 0.55 seconds ahead for gold, while France took home the bronze.
Aside from the 1980 Games, the US had not lost a men’s medley final since the event’s inception at the 1960 Rome Games.
