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Men’s 1500 Free (Bobby Finke)
There’s no doubt that the distance freestyle events are among the weakest for the American men these days. Perhaps Bobby Finke is a guy who can provide a spark. Behind a time of 14:51.15, Finke comfortably won the 1500 freestyle at Nationals, bettering Zane Grothe (14:56.10) and Michael Brinegar (15:00.82).
Unlike the women’s 800 freestyle, in which Ally McHugh had to rally from last to prevail, Finke was in control through the 30-lap event. Finke went through the 800-meter mark in 7:51.54 and is well-positioned to enjoy a strong week at Nationals. For Grothe, his performance was a major improvement over his showing at Worlds, where Grothe managed a time of only 15:21.43 in prelims.
Finke is now ranked ninth in the world for 2019 while Grothe moved up to 15th.
Brinegar also returned from the World Championships but he swam the open water events two weeks ago. He was 12th in the 5K in his first World Championships.
Arik Katz (15:05.93) and Jake Mitchell (15:11.52) were fourth and fifth while Eric Knowles (15:13.52) placed sixth. Seventh went to Jack Collins (15:15.75) and in eighth was Ross Dant (15:22.06).
2019 World Rankings:
- 14:36.54, Florian Wellbrock, GER
- 14:37.63, Mykhailo Romanchuk, UKR
- 14:38.34, Gregorio Paltrinieri, ITA
- 14:44.72, David Aubry, FRA
- 14:45.35, Henrik Christiansen, NOR
- 14:46.51, Daniel Jervis, GBR
- 14:47.75, Alexander Norgaard, DEN
- 14:48.52, Jan Micka, CZE
- 14:51.15, Bobby Finke, USA
- 14:52.03, Domenico Acerenza, ITA
Split times per 50… Makes my lungs burn! Congrats