Team USA’s Bobby Finke breaks 12-year-old record by winning second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s 1,500m freestyle.
American Bobby Finke broke the world record by defending his Olympic title in the men’s 1,500m freestyle, with Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri taking silver and Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen taking bronze.
Finke, who led from the start of Sunday’s race, set a new world record of 14:30.67, breaking the previous record 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 Tokyo 2020 Olympics, made his intentions clear at the beginning of the race, taking a strong lead in the first laps.
He was alone until Paltrinieri, gold medalist in this event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, closed the gap around the 850-meter mark.
The Italian was also swimming at a world record pace, but when it came to the final four laps, Finke kept some energy in reserve to ensure he reached the wall 3.88 seconds ahead of Paltrinieri.
Wiffen, who won gold in the 800m freestyle ahead of Finke, said before the race that it would take a world record time to win it.
He was right, but he couldn’t get it right, finishing 8.96 seconds behind Finke.
Sjostrom wins women’s 50m freestyle
Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden won her second gold medal of the Paris Olympics, racing furiously from one end of the pool to the other to easily claim the 50m freestyle title in the final night of swimming on Sunday.
Sjostrom, 30, competing in her fifth Summer Games, clocked 23.71 seconds, just shy of the 23.61 world record she set at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
In a race that is normally decided in hundredths of a second, the Swedish star turned this final into a relative explosion. She was fastest off the block and clearly in control midway through the single lap.
Meg Harris, from Australia, took silver in 23.97, while bronze went to China’s Zhang Yufei in 24.20.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
