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| Robert
FINKE |
| Sport |
Swimming |
| NOC |
United States
|
| Gender | Men |
| Born | 06 Nov 1999
in Tampa, FL, USA |
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Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Clearwater, FL, USA |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
University of Florida: Gainesville, FL, USA |
General Interest |
Injuries |
In May 2019 he broke the scaphoid bone in his left wrist and suffered a concussion in a scooter accident. He had to wear a brace until mid-July that year and missed the 2019 World University Games in Naples, Italy. (swimswam.com, 01 Jun 2020; teamusa.org, 03 Aug 2019; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 03 Aug 2019) |
Famous relatives |
His mother Jeanne swam for Ball State University in the United States of America, while his father Joe has coached swimming at St. Petersburg Aquatics in the United States of America. His older sister Autumn has competed in swimming for the University of Florida, and his other older sister Ariel has competed in swimming for Florida State University in the United States of America. Both sisters qualified for the 2016 US Olympic Trials. His partner Ellie Zweifel swam for the University of Florida during the 2021/22 US college season. (floridagators.com, 01 Aug 2021; orlandosentinel.com, 13 Jul 2021; swimswam.com, 01 Jun 2020) |
Ambitions |
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (northeastjournal.org, 23 Sep 2021) |
Awards and honours |
He received the 2021 Breakout Male Swimmer of the Year award from swimming website SwimSwam in its Swammy Awards. (swimswam.com, 22 Dec 2021)
In 2019, while competing for the University of Florida, he was named Southeastern Conference [SEC] Co-Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year. He shared the award with University of Florida teammate Kieran Smith. (floridagators.com, 01 Jan 2020; secsports.com, 01 Jun 2019; secsports.com, 11 Apr 2019) |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
Anthony Nesty [club], SUR |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete, Student |
Languages |
English |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Bobby (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 22 Feb 2020) |
Hobbies |
Table tennis. (swimswam.com, 18 Nov 2020) |
Sport Specific Information |
Training Regime |
He usually swims seven to eight kilometres per training session. |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Partner Ellie Zweifel |
Higher education |
Construction Management - University of Florida: Gainesville, FL, USA |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
His family was involved in swimming. "My mum swam back in the 70s, and my dad actually never swam [competitively]. He did like all the other sports, but he became a swim coach. He was always the one driving us up to practice. He grew to love the sport. I have two older sisters, I always grew up competing against them." |
General Interest |
Most influential person in career |
His family. (northeastjournal.org, 23 Sep 2021) |
Milestones |
He became the first swimmer to win the men's 800m freestyle Olympic title when the event debuted at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 17 Sep 2021; nypost.com, 28 Jul 2021) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He took up swimming at an early age. "I think my first meet was right before I turned six. When I turned seven I moved to St. Petersburg Aquatics [in Florida, United States of America] under [coach] Fred Lewis, and I stayed with him until I left for college in 2018." |
General Interest |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"I'm a firm believer in accepting what you can control and not stressing over what you can't." (usaswimming.org, 02 Nov 2021) |
Other information |
TOKYO MEDALS
He won gold in the men's 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle events at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "For myself, I didn't know I had these swims in me. So I've just gained a lot of confidence with coach [Anthony] Nesty being there. The mile [1500m freestyle] was the second event, and it's my baby event, it's my best one, so winning the medal in that one meant a lot to me and my coaches. I was the third [seed] going into the final of the 1500m, so I figured if I matched that, I could win bronze, and if I went faster [than in prelims], I might win silver. I was never expecting to win gold." (usaswimming.org, 02 Nov 2021; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 17 Sep 2021; SwimSwam YouTube channel, 16 Aug 2021; tampabay.com, 14 Aug 2021; USA TODAY Facebook page, 01 Aug 2021; nypost.com, 28 Jul 2021) |
Olympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
1500m Freestyle |
14:39.65 |
| 1 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
800m Freestyle |
7:41.87 |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 2 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
1500m Freestyle |
14:31.59 |
| 3 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
800m Freestyle |
7:38.67 |
| 2 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
1500m Freestyle |
14:36.70 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
800m Freestyle |
7:39.36 |
| Heats |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
1500m Freestyle |
15:15.15 |
World Cup |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 6 |
2022 |
Indianapolis, IN, USA |
400m Individual Medley |
4:11.03 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Indianapolis, IN, USA |
1500m Freestyle |
14:45.77 |
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