Tag: Bobby Finke

Florida earns pair of titles on final day of Phillips 66 National Championships

Florida swimming wrapped up the Phillips 66 National Championships on a high note on Saturday claiming a pair of titles on the final day.

Florida swimming wrapped up the Phillips 66 National Championships on a high note on Saturday claiming a pair of titles on the final day of competition. Former Olympians [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] and [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag] swept the 800-meter free and 1500-meter free, respectively, to earn national championships in both events to close things out.

For Finke, it was the second time he gold-medaled during the course of the five-day meet, swimming a 7:40.34 — both a US Open record and the fastest time in the world this year — after claiming the national title in the men’s 800-meter free on Saturday night. He also claimed two other medals in the competition.

Ledeki one-upped him, earning her third national title of the week with a time of 15:29.64 — also the fastest time in the world this year.

Other members of the team who brought in a haul of hardware are Kieran Smith, who finished fifth in the A-Final of the men’s 200-meter individual medley, shaving over a second off his prelim time from Saturday morning. Incoming freshman Bella Sims recorded another strong showing in the 200-meter IM A-Final as well, also finishing fifth with a time of 2:12.15.

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This Florida swimmer medaled for 3rd-straight day at Phillips 66 Championships

The Gators continue to bring home the hardware from this year’s Phillips 66 Championships.

Florida swimmer [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] earned a medal for the third-straight day at the Phillips 66 Championships held in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday with a third-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley — the only podium finish for the Orange and Blue that day. Finke’s 4:09.55 was five seconds shorter than his preliminary time and enough to bring home the bronze.

Also of note was Caleb Dressel, who is in the midst of a comeback attempt as he tries to regain his once-held Olympic glory. He posted a 51.95 in the 100-meter men’s butterfly, which was .29 seconds less than his morning time and good enough for a tie for fifth place in the event.

The other Gator who reached the A-final in her respective event was Zoe Dixon — the 2023 SEC Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year for 2023 — who notched a 4:44.86 in the 400-meter IM, finishing fourth in the nation.

The 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships continue Friday, with prelims starting at 10 a.m. EDT and finals at 7 p.m. EDT. The prelims are streamed on the USA Swimming Youtube page while the finals are available on Peacock.

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Gators swimmer sets record at Phillips 66 National Championships

Florida swimmer Bobby Finke earned a significant achievement on the opening night of the Phillips 66 Championships on Tuesday.

Florida swimmer Bobby Finke earned a significant achievement on the opening night of the Phillips 66 Championships on Tuesday. The senior from Clearwater, Florida, set the U.S. Open and Championship records with his 1500m freestyle time of 14:42.81 — the fifth-fastest in the world this season.

It was also eight seconds faster than any of his competitors.

Additionally, Finke — along with his female colleague, Katie Ledecky — earned a national title. Ledecky, who is currently volunteering as a coach with the Gators while she trains under head coach Anthony Nesty, swam her third-fastest 800m free time ever (and fastest since 2016) with an 8:07.07 final time.

Like Finke, the former Olympian also blew the competition out of the water, winning her event by a 13-second margin.

Other results include Mason Laur’s career-best 1:55.67 in the 200m butterfly and Macguire McDuff’s personal-best 48.24 in the 100m free for the men. On the women’s side, incoming freshman Bella Sims placed seventh with a 53.73 giving her a new personal best.

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Recapping Florida’s strong showing in the Tokyo Olympics

Florida took home 17 medals in Tokyo Olympics that ranks third among all college programs behind Stanford and USC.

Now that the Tokyo Olympics came to a close on Sunday, it’s time to reflect on Florida’s strong showing in this year’s games. The Gators won 17 medals, including nine gold, in five different sports: baseball, soccer, swimming, softball and track and field. It stands as the third most among all NCAA programs behind Stanford (26) and USC (21).

If UF was recognized as a country, it would’ve finished tied for 17th place in the total medal count. Its nine gold medals would’ve landed 11th among all the countries that collected a medal in the Tokyo Olympics. Florida also had 32 athletes compete which is good enough for fifth among college programs.

The Gators’ 17 medals equal their second-highest total in the Olympics. They collected 21 in the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles and grabbed 17  in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Former Florida swimming star Caeleb Dressel earned over half of the Gators’ gold medals with five. He also set two world records in the 100-meter fly and the 4×100-meter medley relay. It is also the most gold medals won by a Florida student-athlete in a single Olympics.

Current Gators swimmer Bobby Finke took home two gold medals in the 1,500-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle.

In soccer, Deanne Rose and Adriana Leon helped Canada win its first gold medal in the sport.

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Gators Bobby Finke, Caeleb Dressel collect three more gold medals for Team USA

Caeleb Dressel won his fourth and fifth gold medals Saturday while Bobby Finke grabbed his second of the Tokyo Olympics.

Former Florida men’s swimmers Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke added three more gold medals to the Gators’ overall total in the Tokyo Olympics. Dressel earned two gold medals in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100 medley relay. Finke grabbed his gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle. Dressel’s two gold medals Saturday brings his overall total to five and Finke’s to two.

In the 50-meter freestyle, Dressel won the race with an Olympic record time of 21.07. But he would shatter more records later in the evening during the 4×100 medley relay. Team USA tallied a world record 3:26.78.

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Finke won a gold medal when he surged from behind in the last 50-meters of the 800-meter freestyle earlier in the Tokyo Olympics. He claimed the win in the 1500-meter freestyle in the same fashion. Finke finished with a time of 14:39.65.

Florida former and current student-athletes have combined for seven gold medals and 13 medals overall in this year’s Olympics.

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Gators News: Pair of swimmers earn gold giving US lead in Tokyo

So far, current and former Gators have brought home eight medals, including a pair earned by two UF wet heads that put the United States over the top in the gold medal count.

The Tokyo Olympics continue to roll along this week and so have the members of the Orange and Blue. So far, current and former Gators have brought home eight medals, including a pair earned by two UF wet heads that put the United States over the top in the gold medal count. Here is a look at the two gold-medalist swimmers.

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Team USA’s Bobby Finke pulled off a jaw-dropping comeback to win first-ever men’s 800m freestyle Olympic gold

A wild comeback.

Team USA swimmer Bobby Finke had the race — and finish — of a lifetime Thursday morning at the Tokyo Olympics (Wednesday night in the U.S.). And the first-time Olympian pulled off a truly stunning comeback to win gold in the first-ever men’s 800-meter freestyle.

In the new event added to the Olympic lineup this year — along with the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle — 21-year-old Finke didn’t look to be in contention for a medal for most of the race.

In fact, he was fifth going into the final 100 meters, and as he and the field approached their final flip turn, Finke was still almost half a body length behind the race leaders. Coming off the final turn in fourth, Finke trailed Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuck.

But then Finke turned on the jets and absolutely crushed his final 50, and it’s amazing he even had that much energy left after the first 750 meters. His last 50 split was 26.39, which is extremely fast at the end of this distance race.

Look at this jaw-dropping finish at the end of his comeback:

With only 25 meters left, Finke was dead even with the leaders and cruised ahead of them to win the first-ever men’s 800 free Olympic gold.

He finished with a time of 7:41.87 — out-touching silver medalist Paltrinieri by just .24 seconds, while Romanchuck won bronze.

Finke’s incredible gold-medal finish even caught the attention of his teammate, Caeleb Dressel, who stopped in the warm-up pool to watch his fellow Florida Gator win it all:

What a great swim for Finke in his Olympic debut.

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Gators News: Weekend roundup of U.S. Olympic Trials in swimming, track and field

Members of the Gator Nation — both current and alumni — vied for international athletic immortality this summer in Tokyo over the weekend.

Welcome back from a weekend filled with U.S. Olympic Trials action as members of the Gator Nation — both current and alumni — vie for international athletic immortality this summer in Tokyo. While the track and field team still has not earned a qualifier, the men’s team has three members heading across the Pacific while a former women’s team swimmer earned her first Olympic bid. Here is a look at the roundup from the weekend.

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