Three Florida Gators competed in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics early Monday morning, but only American [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] will continue on to the finals on Tuesday.
Finke placed fifth overall, finishing third in his heat with a 7:43 finish.
Incoming freshman [autotag]Luke Whitlock[/autotag] (USA) placed 15th with a time of 7:49.26, and 2023 graduate [autotag]Alfonso Mestre[/autotag] (Venezuela) placed 29th with an 8:12.03 finish, both missing the eight-man cut for the final.
Mestre finished last in the second heat by nearly 11 seconds. He reached the first turn in fifth place but spent the rest of the swim in eighth. Whitlock placed fifth in his heat, finishing just two splits in fourth place.
Whitlock is the youngest male to make the U.S. Olympic Swimming roster since Michael Phelps in 2000. He’ll train for the 2028 Los Angeles Games while swimming for Florida. His Olympic Trials time of 7:45.19 would have just missed the final cut in Paris, so he’s a future superstar in the making.
Mestre also competed in the 400-meter freestyle two days ago, placing 19th with a 3:48.20.
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