Bobby Finke of the United States accomplished a stunning distance double at his first Olympics by securing a gold medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle. This is the first time a U.S guy has won Olympic gold in the sport in 37 years.
The world was shocked this week when a University of Florida swimmer won gold in the 800 freestyle of men. Finke won the 1,500 meters on Sunday morning in 14:39.65, with Ukrainian Mykhailo Romanchuk coming in second, 1.26 seconds later.
Florian Wellbrock of the United Kingdom came in third in 14:40.91.
Bobby Finke is the greatest surprise of the Games for the United States of America Swimming team. He raced the last 50m in mere 25.78 seconds on Sunday, quicker than any other guy in the 200-meter freestyle final.
The winning time on Sunday in the 1500 earlier this year was 9.05 seconds faster than Bobby Finke’s personal best. This is the second quickest time in America’s history.
Since 1984 Bobby Finke was the first man to earn Olympic gold in an American Swimmer’s 800 freestyle Thursday.
Finke is the product of a swimming-obsessed family. His mother was a Ball State University swimmer. His father, Joe, is a swim coach. His two older sisters, Summer and Autumn, also swam for Florida State and Florida State, respectively.
