Paris Olympics: Bobby Finke Breaks World Record to Win Men’s 1500m Freestyle Gold

The United States finished the final night of swimming at the Paris Olympics on a high note, setting two world records and clinching the gold medal count over rival Australia.

Bobby Finke set a new world record in the men’s 1500m freestyle, while the American women concluded the thrilling nine-day event at La Defense Arena with another record in their 4×100 medley relay.

Finke was under world-record pace for the entire race, finishing with a time of 14 minutes, 30.67 seconds, breaking the previous record of 14:31.02 set by China’s Sun Yang at the 2012 London Games.

“I really wanted to get on top of the podium again and hear the anthem all over again like I did for the first time in Tokyo,” said Finke, who previously swept the 800m and 1500m freestyle events three years ago.

This victory marked the only individual gold medal won by an American male swimmer during the Paris Games.

Finke, who won gold in the same event in Tokyo, became the first male swimmer to win back-to-back titles in the grueling 30-lap event since Australia’s Grant Hackett in 2000 and 2004, and the first American since Mike Burton in 1968 and 1972.

“It was a dream,” Finke said.