Former Florida swimmer [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] won the silver medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, bringing UF’s 2024 medal count up to three.
Finke missed first place by about half a second, finishing with a time of 7:38.75.
Irish gold medalist Daniel Wiffen edged out Finke with a 7:38.19, while Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri earned bronze with a 7:39.38. All three medalists broke the previous Olympic record (7:41.28) but didn’t come close to the world record (7:32.12) set in 2009.
Finke stayed in fourth or fifth place for the first two laps, pushing ahead to the medal range around the 250-meter mark. Known for his closing speed in the final lap, Finke posted the fastest single-lap split of 26.47 seconds to secure silver. It looked like he had a chance at gold, but Wiffen held him off.
There are two approaches to distance races. Some swimmers like to hold out for the end, such as Finke, and others try to establish an early lead, hoping to stave off fatigue.
Australian Elijah Winnington is an example of the latter. He controlled the race’s first half, leading the pack through 350 meters, but dropped to third at 400 meters and spent the last two laps in eighth place.
Bobby Finke's valiant comeback comes up just short of gold, but he earns SILVER in the 800m free! 💪
📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/WeKAUx0G0e
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024
This is Finke’s third Olympic medal after winning two golds (800m and 1,500m free) in the 2020 Tokyo Games. He will attempt to defend his gold in the 1,500 starting August 3.
Florida’s medal count moves up to three as well. Caeleb Dressel won gold in the 4×100 freestyle relay, and Emma Weyant won bronze in the 400-meter individual medley — both with Team USA.
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