In Tight Battle, Bobby Finke Claims Male American Swimmer of the Year Honors
One year after he pulled off two of the most stunning, dramatic gold-medal performances in Olympic swimming history, Bobby Finke validated his own success once again on the international level as he stamped himself as the top American male distance swimmer right now and one of the best in decades.
At the Tokyo Games in 2021, Finke unleashed epic finishes in both the 800 and 1500 meter freestyle finals to secure completely unexpected Olympic gold medals. He was the first-ever gold medalist in the 800 free and the first American to win the 1500 free since Mike O’Brien in 1984.
During the months prior to this year’s FINA World Championships in Budapest, Finke was unchallenged as he raced in domestic waters. He cruised to a title in the 1650 yard free at his final NCAA Championships representing the University of Florida, and he won the 1500 and 800 meter free at the U.S. International Team Trials while never receiving any serious challenges. He was well off his best times, but he had no serious competition in any of those races. But given his feats from Tokyo, it was certain that Finke would step up to the challenge when he needed to against the world’s best distance swimmers.
That’s exactly what transpired. In the 800 free final, Finke sat in fourth place for most of the race, and he was still a full second behind leader Mykhailo Romanchuk of Ukraine with 50 meters remaining. But on the last lap, there was no stopping this American. He clobbered the rest of the field with a 25.93 closing split to surge ahead for gold. Finke touched in 7:39.36 to become the seventh-fastest man in history and break his American record by more than two seconds.
Four days later, Finke’s streak of golden efforts in major finals was broken, but it took a gutty effort from Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and the second-fastest performance ever to build enough of a lead to feel comfortable while racing Finke on the last length. But Finke still had a chance to show off his magic. He flipped third with a single 50 remaining, a half-second behind Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, but his finishing burst got him ahead to claim silver. His time of 14:36.70 moved him to No. 6 all-time and chopped almost three seconds off Connor Jaeger’s American record.
Those accomplishments earn Finke the title of Male American Swimmer of the Year for 2022, and he is the first distance freestyle specialist ever to win this award. Previously, Canada’s Ryan Cochrane tied for the honor in 2014, while Brian Goodell was the World Swimmer of the Year in 1977, three years before the first regional honors were handed out.
Finke was a winner in this category by a narrow margin over U.S. backstroker Ryan Murphy, who won four medals at the World Championships, including the first individual world title of his decorated career in the 200 backstroke. Murphy’s strong year also included an individual silver in the 100 back in which he was just a tenth short of his own American record.
But Finke, a Tampa native who turned 23 in November, gets the recognition for his quick rise to international prominence and his flare for both the dramatic and his best performances in the moments that matter most.
TOP 5 AMERICAS (Men)
1. BOBBY FINKE, USA (3) 37
2. Ryan Murphy, USA (2) 36
3. Caeleb Dressel, USA (2) 22
4. Hunter Armstrong, USA (2) 21
5. Carson Foster, USA (1) 18
(First-place votes in parentheses)
* Joshua Liendo, Canada (7th, 11 pts.), received one first-place vote