Bobby Finke of Team United States walks out ahead of the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on August 04, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Finke held a half-a-second lead at the midway point and was ahead of world record pace against Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri. But Finke turned on the jets, increasing his lead to 1.3 seconds with 500 meters to go and getting over two seconds ahead of the record pace.
Finke eventually lost his big lead on the world record, but the Italian was never able to catch up, as he finished 3.88 seconds behind Finke for silver (at one point, Paltrinieri, too, was ahead of a record pace).
Finke failed to go back-to-back in the 800-meter free earlier in the Games, settling for the silver by just over half a second. He admitted after his world record he was “kind of p—ed” about the silver, perhaps fueling his fire for Sunday.
Bobby Finke of Team United States celebrates after winning gold in a world record time in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on August 04, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
It’s the seventh gold medal for Americans in the swimming pool and the 26th overall – it was a wire-to-wire victory for Finke.
The seven golds tied the USA with Australia for the most in swimming, although they’ve had a much higher success rate, as they’ve earned just 17 total medals.
Finke is the third American to win gold on Sunday, joining Scottie Scheffler on the golf course and cyclist Kristen Faulkner.
Finke made his Olympic debut in Tokyo at just the age of 21 but put himself on the map by winning two golds. Bobby Finke of Team United States competes in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on August 04, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
Now at 24, he’s already a three-time gold medalist – expect to see much, much more of this young talent, and be on the lookout for him to become a household name.
