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I have been writing about a guy these past months who many of you may not have heard of and, at the time, didn’t really resonate with what I was trying to say.
The guy is Bobby Finke and I informed you that he won the eight hundred and 1500 freestyle Gold Medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. This was plenty impressive, but it was the way he won both races that stood out. He trailed in both races and on the last lap kicked into another gear – when the pain was the most excruciating – and won the races.
The story was “Bobby Finke doesn’t quit. Bobby Finke wins in dramatic fashion. Bobby Finke comes through in the clutch.” And at the time almost no one outside the swimming world knew who he was. He wasn’t expected to win two Golds in Tokyo.
Since I saw that happen I have thought about him with fond memories from time to time as an American hero coming through on the biggest stage, and I was excited to see what he might do in the Paris Olympics.
Fast forward to today. He found himself in another pressure situation.
The American men had not won an individual Gold medal in these Olympics – a rarity — and his was the last chance. Plus, Australia had won more Gold than the Americans in these Games and he could even the score if he won his race.
Oh, and one more thing. His was the last individual event and the entire US Olympic swim team was in the stadium to cheer him on. Come on, Bobby, even the score with the Australians. Don’t let us out of here with a man winning an individual Gold and the Australians having bragging rights that they won more Gold than the Americans.
In the stands, one of his daily training partners, Katie Ledecky, stood and cheered as Bobby got going on the marathon swim race. He shot out to a lead – a different tactic than in Tokyo where he stayed in third and fourth for the bulk of the race.
Out in front, he was Bobby, with so much on his shoulders, an American swimming for American pride, a young man swimming for Olympic glory.
On Bobby went with a body-length lead. The crowd noise increased. Could he hold on? Would his strategy to take the lead work or would someone catch him at the end like he did to them in Tokyo?
Was Bobby Finke being Bobby Finke again, really, like he was Bobby Finke in Tokyo, inspiring everyone who watched him swim, amazed at his fast and unrelenting pace?
It became clear that Bobby was being Bobby and it was so special to see. A shot of his coach, Anthony Nesty, showed him tearing up and it was so sweet. He was watching the young man he coaches every day do what they had prepared him to do: win the Gold Medal.
These were tears of joy and pride. The coach knows all about the time Bobby had spent going back and forth in the water an incredible amount of times in practice getting conditioned to handle the physical duress of this race against the fastest 1500 freestylers in the world.
Bobby was proving again he’s the best of the best in the world.
The best kind of American.
Bobby Finke – tougher than all the rest.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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