Two-time Olympic gold medalist Bobby Finke qualified for the finals of the Men's 1500m freestyle event courtesy of his superb performances on Saturday. This came during the eighth day of the ongoing U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at the Lucas Oil Stadium.
The 24-year-old registered a mark of 14:59.04 to convincingly top the charts in the prelims of the 1500m free. Finke was also the only swimmer in the prelims to finish the race in under 15 minutes. It was an absolute show of domination from the reigning Men's 1500m freestyle Olympic champion as he aims for consecutive Olympic trials win.
The University of Texas swimmer, David Johnston took second place behind Finke with a mark of 15:02.42 while Luke Ellis finished in the third position in 15:14.93.
This will be the third final for the Florida native in this US Olympic Swimming Trials after 400m freestyle and 800m freestyle events. Finke has already earned a qualification in the Men's 800m freestyle event after he sealed the deal on the fourth day of the trials by emerging victorious in the finals by registering a mark of 7:44.22.
In the Men's 400m freestyle event, Finke failed to punch his ticket as he managed just a fourth-place finish (registered mark of 3:46.27) behind the likes of Aaron Shackell, Kieran Smith, and David Johnston.
World Championships gold medalist Bobby Finke opens up about his swimming roots
Hailing from a family of athletes, Bobby Finke was not the only one who was gifted with immaculate swimming skills. His father, Joe Finke was a swimmer turned coach while his mother Jeanne Finke was also a collegiate swimmer and competed for the Ball State University.
Finke's two sisters, Autumn Finke, and Ariel Finke are also involved in the world of swimming and were attached to the University of Florida and North Carolina State University respectively.
In a recent interview with Olympics.com Finke elaborated on how this heredity in his family imbibed the competitive spirit in him ever since he was a child. He said:
"Swimming is definitely something that runs in the family. I really liked following in my older sisters' footsteps. You know, as a younger brother, you want to be better than your sisters. So, I competed with them a lot as I grew up, and they really shaped the way I perceive and go after the sport to this day."
During the interview, Bobby Finke also reminisced about his childhood days and the time he beat his sisters for the first time in swimming.