Olympic champion Bobby Finke swept the distance events for the third U.S. Trials in a row. As the 2020 defending Olympic Champion in the distance swimming events, Finke has a big target on his back in an international field deep with spectacular talent.
2022-2023 LCM Men 1500 Free
Hafnaoui
14:31.54
View Top 26»2 Bobby
FinkeUSA 14:31.59 07/30 3 Florian
WellbrockGER 14:34.89 04/21 4 Daniel
WiffenIRL 14:34.91 04/14 5 Samuel
ShortAUS 14:37.28 07/30
BOBBY FINKE 2023 WORLD CHAMP PREDICTIONS
800 Free? Finke’s PB is a 7:39 from 2022 World Championships. I see him swimming 7:37 for the gold.
1500 Free? Finke’s PB is a 14:36 from from 2022 World Championships where he got silver to Gregorio Paltrinieri who swam 14:32, a swim I don’ t see him repeating. I see Florian Wellbrock touching third in 14:34. Paltrinieri leads the field for 1450 meters, but touches second in 14:33.4. I see Bobby keeping an eye on the field — on Paltrinieri — touching in 14:33.1 for the gold.
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Top 10 all-time in the 1500 free:
Yang 14:31.02
Paltrinieri 14:32.80
Hackett 14:34.56
Wellbrock 14:34.89
Wiffen 14:34.91
Romanchuk 14:36.10
Finke 14:36.70
Mellouli 14:37.28
Jaeger 14:39.48
Horton 14:39.54
Märtens (14:40.28) and Short (14:46.67) could enter the top 10. Then we would have 7 of the top 10 all-time in the same race.
Interestingly out of the top 30 all-time only 5 set their PB at 25 or older and all of them (Paltrinieri, Wellbrock, Romanchuk, Mellouli, Jaeger) are in the top 10. Out of the top 50 only 9 set their PB at 25 or older and out of the top 100 only 16 set their PB at 25 or older.
Mellouli’s 14:37 was during the supersuit era.
Needs to be a lot braver to win.
The 1500 is really difficult to predict, but the only way he is losing the 800 is if Sam Short does something crazy; at 19 years of age he has more potential drop in him than Finke but that’s about it (I am also curious to know how he splits his 800s compared to Finke). The other guys demonstrably do not have what it takes to beat him in the 800, and apart from Greg he has the best PB if I am not mistaken.
He is also the only male swimmer right now who appears to be optimized for the 800, which is interesting, because up until now, it wasn’t an Olympic event (again, maybe Sam Short is… Read more »
“Interesting” take …
Short, PB of 14:46, has never done anything at world level, is the only one who can beat him. Paltrinieri, Wellbrock and Wiffen, who all have a faster PB, don’t stand a chance, but Short somehow does …
Especially grandpa Wiffen, who’s PB is a mere 12 seconds faster than Short’s, doesn’t stand a chance.
Grandpa Märtens, who is 2 years older than Short and therefore close to retirement, shouldn’t even bother to compete, given that his pathetic PB is only 6 seconds faster than Short’s PB.
Tuncelli from Turkey is 4 years younger than Short and only 10 seconds slower, therefore grandpa Short should just retire, he doesn’t stand a chance against Tuncelli.
Talking about the 800 if it wasn’t clear. Only the first half of the first sentence was about the 1500, the only place where the number “1500” is written. I’ve clarified that I’m talking about the 800 five times after that. Sam Short has a 7:40.39 for a PB, 0.76 from Wellbrock’s PB, 0.34 from Romanchuk’s and 4.06 seconds faster than Wiffen’s.
Also, can you read? “The 1500 is really difficult to predict” is what I wrote, because the field is really deep and it’s difficult to pick a favourite.
The op were talking about 800
I don’t really care who wins, but i finally want to see someone go sub 14:30 or at least someone breaking the world record. I also need to see someone go sub 3:40 in men’s 400 free. Someone going sub 1:04 in women’s 100 breast/sub 57 in women’s 100 back/sub 2:03 in women’s 200 back/sub 55 in women’s 100 fly would also be nice.
All you’re asking for is 6 world records? Why not all of them at that point
And a pony. He/She wants a pony too.
Not a pony but a unicorn.
I’d prefer sub 3:55 in 400 FR, sub 4:25 in 400 IM, and sub 1:52.98 in 200 FR
There once was a swimmer named Finke,
Whose talent made others blink,
With strokes smooth and bold,
He swam for the gold,
And left his opponents to sink.
…this was so cringe the first time, but relentlessness is growing on me. (Still think this is GPT…)
And here’s my 20 second ChatGPT effort Mr. Zippo. (GPT prompt? Make the poem tougher, in the voice of Cormac McCathy):
In the wet abyss, swam Finke, they called him,
A man of quiet might, his presence grim,
Strokes slicing through waters, unforgiving and bold,
He sought the gold, a tale yet untold,
Leaving foes adrift, in darkness dim.
A swimmer’s tale, amidst the shadows cast,
Where Finke’s prowess echoed from the past,
Through fluid depths, his path was set,
A lone wolf, a man you won’t forget,
In waters dark, his destiny steadfast.
Like a whispering wind on barren plains,… Read more »
His name carried far, fueled by blood and veins,
This may be my favorite thus far.
I think the reason he took the 1500 out so fast at Nationals was so he could see whether or not he would die by following Greg’s raceplan. The result was a US Open record and his fastest time outside of a Worlds/Olympics, so it’s safe to say he can hang with anyone and still close. Where he kills people is on his turns. He has a sprinter’s turns and is able to conserve energy by being so good off the walls. I think the 1500 is a tossup between him and Greg (both are big time racers) and he wins the 800 going away.
this post is giving “I WANT IGOUDALA” energy💀
Bobby will give us a race to remember.
I hope he gets a WR at some point in his career. Such a long time since an American held the distance records. Decades have gone by. That would be a great legacy for him to achieve that.
7:31:00 800 free?