Bobby Finke's Olympic glory is all in the family: 'They shaped the way I go after this sport' - Exclusive
The Finkes are a swimming family. It just happened to be Bobby Finke who wound up an Olympic champion.
"Oh, I definitely remember the first time I beat them," laughs Finke about toppling older sisters Autumn and Ariel in 2013, when he was in middle school. "I beat them by five seconds... and once I got [that win], I took the reins and ran with it.
"They definitely taught me to be competitive and relentless in this sport," he told Olympics.com recently.
"So, I owe a lot of my competitive nature and love of racing to them."
All three of the Finke siblings would swim collegiately, with Bobby following Autumn's footsteps at the University of Florida while Ariel competed for both Florida State University and North Carolina State. They took the lead from their mother, Jeanne, who competed at Ball State.
"Swimming was definitely a big part of my family," Finke confirmed, having grown up in the Tampa Bay area. His father Joe became a swimmer and later got into coaching because of Bobby's mother's passion for the sport.
The sport took on an even deeper meaning for the trio of Finke kids. Why else would such a memory from the sixth grade - finally swimming faster than your older siblings - be so ingrained for Bobby?
"Swimming is definitely something that runs in the family," Finke said. "I really liked following in my older sisters' footsteps. You know, as a younger brother, you want to be better than your sisters. So, I competed with them a lot as I grew up, and they really shaped the way I perceive and go after the sport to this day."
Olympic champion Bobby Finke: 'I like to think I'm the same person'
It was at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 that Finke scored gold - twice - for Team USA, winning the inaugural staging of the men's 800m freestyle before going on to claim victory in the 1500m, as well.
He needed come-from-behind efforts in both wins, surging in the final 50 metres. This week at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming in Indianapolis, Finke will look to land on a second Olympic team for Paris 2024, with the men's 800m freestyle final set for Tuesday (18 June) and the 1500m final on Sunday (23 June).
Not only does Finke want to return to the Games, but he'd like to stand atop the podium in his favoured events again, having been bumped to bronze in the 800m and silver in the 1500m at the World Championships in 2023, with Olympic 400m champion Ahmed Hafnaoui claiming both of those respective titles.
The Tunisian Hafnaoui is scrambling to try and ready for next month's Games after revealing a prolonged injury last month.
But for Finke, his Olympic glory hasn't changed him much at all, he says, in part because of the grounding of the same family that helped him learn how to be such a champion in the pool.
"I'm still the same person... I like to think, at least," the 24-year-old said, laughing again. "But, you know, the family around me, the support system around me, they've done a lot for me. And they're still doing a lot for me, you know? To have them in my corner all the time, it means a lot."
The greatest gift Olympic gold gave Bobby? The chance to just keep swimming, he says.
"Since Tokyo, I've gotten to keep doing this as a career," he said. "That's what it's given me: Allowed me to keep doing what I love."