Bobby Finke Will Miss SEC Championships, ‘Following Health & Safety Protocols’
The SEC Championships begin Tuesday evening in Knoxville, Tenn., and the meet runs through Saturday, but the most well-known swimmer in the conference will not be in attendance. Bobby Finke, who stormed to Olympic gold with stunning performances in the 800 and 1500-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, will miss the conference meet. The University of Florida announced that Finke will be out, and Finke confirmed the news in a tweet.
Finke wrote that he is “following health & safety protocols,” but he is expected to return for the NCAA Championships. Finke is the fastest man in history in the 1650-yard freestyle at 14:12.08, a time he recorded at the 2020 SEC Championships, and he captured NCAA titles last season in the 1650 free and 400 IM.
Florida will be aiming for its 10th consecutive SEC team title this week, and even with Finke absent, the Gators remain favored for the title with Olympic bronze medalist Kieran Smith leading the way. Florida placed third at last season’s NCAA Championships, and with Finke planning on returning for the championships in late March in Atlanta, the team will have a strong chance at repeating that finish. Florida is led by fourth-year head coach Anthony Nesty, who was just named as the U.S. men’s coach for the 2022 FINA World Championships.
Finke, 22, first qualified to represent the United States in international competition at the 2017 World Championships, but he became the nation’s top distance swimmer in 2020 and 2021, a rise which culminated with wins in the 800 and 1500 free at Olympic Trials. Finke was considered an outside threat for medals entering his first Olympics in Tokyo, but he stunned fields led by Europeans stars Florian Wellbrock, Gregorio Paltrinieri and Mykhailo Romanchuk to win gold medals.
The full announcement from the University of Florida is available here.
