Team USA’s Bobby Finke won his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle, breaking a 12-year-old record.
American Bobby Finke defended his Olympic title in the men’s 1,500m freestyle, breaking a world record, while Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri took silver and Ireland’s Daniel Whippen took bronze.
Finke, who led from the start of Sunday’s race, set a new world record of 14:30.67, breaking the previous best of 14:31.02 set by China’s Sun Yang at the 2012 London Olympics.
The American, who won gold in the 1,500m and 800m freestyle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, made his intentions clear from the start, taking a strong lead in the first lap.
He competed alone until Paltrinieri, the gold medalist in this event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, closed the gap at the 850m mark.
The Italian also swam at a world record pace, but by the final four laps, Finke had energy left over and reached the barrier 3.88 seconds ahead of Paltrinieri.
Whippen, who won gold in the 800m freestyle ahead of Finke, said before the race that he needed to break the world record to win.
He was right, but he didn’t make it, finishing 8.96 seconds behind Finke.
Sjostrom competes in women’s 50m freestyle
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom sprinted from one end of the pool to the other on the final day of swimming on Sunday, easily winning the 50m freestyle title and claiming her second gold medal of the Paris Olympics.
The 30-year-old Sjostrom, competing in her fifth Summer Olympiad, clocked 23.71 seconds, just shy of the world record of 23.61 set at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
In a race usually decided by hundredths of a second, the Swedish star turned this final into a relatively explosive result. She started fastest out of the blocks and was clearly in control by the halfway point of the single lap.
Australia’s Meg Harris won silver in 23.97 seconds, while China’s Zhang Yufei took bronze in 24.20 seconds.
