Bobby Finke becomes third Florida Gator to win medal at Paris Olympics

Former Florida Gator swimmer Bobby Finke was aiming for gold once more in the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics. Finke won the event in Tokyo and was aiming to defend his title. But despite a valiant effort and his trademark late surge, Finke settled for silver.

The Irish challenger, Daniel Wiffen, shattered the Olympic record in the process with a time of 7:38.19. Finke, who had a time of 7:38.75, admitted to being disappointed but remained resolute.

"It's tough to come up short. But representing Team USA and getting on the podium is still an incredible honor."

The silver medal marks the third overall Olympic medal for the 24-year-old. With the 1500-meter freestyle still to come, Finke still has an opportunity to add another gold to his collection.

"I’m going to use this as motivation," he said. "I still want that gold."

During his time with the Gators, Finke was an 11-time All-American from 2019 through 2022. He won three national titles with Florida, including two in the 1,650 freestyle. He was the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year and was on the Academic Honor roll three times.

Finke was born in Tampa and trained out of St. Petersburg growing up. Since graduating from Florida, he has continued to live in Gainesville and is still coached by Florida head coach Anthony Nesty, who is also the head coach for Team USA swimming at these Olympics.

Finke won two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, one in the 800 meter and one in the 1,500 meter.