Swimming Finale

What a way to end the swimming competition at the 2024 Olympics. I did not pay as much attention to swimming as I usually do, giving myself a C- on aquatic coverage but I can celebrate the finale.

What I did pay attention to along the way was the US getting a lot of medals but not a lot of Golds, and the female athletes bringing home the individual gold bacon. I didn’t realize until yesterday that we were in danger of letting Australia win more gold medals than America in swimming for the first time since 1956. But thank goodness for the folks below, who helped us pull ahead with 8 gold medals over Australia’s 7 keeping the streak alive!

BOBBY FINKE

Gold Medal and World Record in the 1,500 meter freestyle. I was trying to find a fun fact about him and only found that he likes Marvel superheroes, pizza, video games and table tennis which can be said for most. But I did find this interesting fact.

Did he invent raw-dogging plane rides? It sounds like he would excel at that, in addition to swimming a Metric Mile the fastest ever in history.

WOMEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY

The women finished out the swimming with a Gold Medal and a world record in the ultimate event!

Regan Smith – Backstroke

Also was looking for fun facts and found something similar to Bobby: “Before the races themselves, I don’t like to listen to anything. I really enjoy feeding off of the crowd instead, but I do love music. I’m all over the place with my music. I think it definitely depends on what I’m feeling. For example, Stranger Things has helped me form an appreciation for 80s music.” What’s up this younger generation of swimmers not using music to hype up? But Stranger Things is still on my watch list so I appreciate that part.

Lilly King – Breaststroke

I’m loving her personal facts on the US Swimming website. Biscuits & Gravy, Pre-Race McDonalds and the X-Files!? Loving it.

Gretchen Walsh – Butterfly

Gretchen had a great games and it was nice that she was physically there for her sister after her difficult disqualification. But watch out, the phenom sisters did an interview earlier this year and showed no mercy for their mother, pushing her into the pool in what I can imagine was a complete sneak attack and not a staged funny photo at all.

Torri Huske – Freestyle

Torri also anchored the mixed 4×100 medley relay that got a world record so she’s been crushing it. I’ve also felt a smidge bad both times because her teammates had time to recover and she kind of rolls out of the pool and needs a well deserved sec and everyone else wants to jump up and down. She also visited Australia at some point and befriended a kangaroo, probably bribed it with snacks to learn the Australian secrets. I’m ok with it since it clearly worked!

Ok swimmers, it’s been fun. I hope you all are partying and sleeping and eating giant croissants or whatever you want to be doing. Turning back into a dolphin and returning to Atlantis? You do you. We’ll see you in the slightly deeper pool in LA2028.