Bobby Finke, Florida Gator and two-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer, chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about joining the TYR Family, the 2021 U.S. Open, the 2021 Golden Goggle Awards, and he shared his plans for the future.
Walt Disney once said: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Olympian Bobby Finke, 22, embodies this wise quote by the cartoon icon.
TYR Family
Finke recently joined the TYR Family. “It feels great. I have worn their suits since my freshman year at summer nationals, and ever since, I have been pretty confident in their materials. It’s an honor to represent their brand,” Finke said.
As a member of the TYR team, Finke will join such sponsored Olympic swimmers as Katie Ledecky, Ryan Lochte, Lilly King, Tom Shields, and Michael Andrew.
2021 U.S. Open
At the 2021 U.S. Open, which was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Florida Gator secured three wins, in the 800 freestyle (clocking 7:54.07), the 1500 freestyle (clocking 15:04.77), and the 400 meter individual medley (IM) with a time of 4:17.39. “That was a fun meet,” he admitted. “It was a pretty small meet, and the University of Florida was the team with the most participants. We all had a good time.”
Finke also claimed third place in the men’s 400 meter freestyle, where he clocked 3:51.44. “I was racing my teammate, and he’s a really good guy. We talked after the race and he was really kind,” he said. “We had some really good times.”
2021 Golden Goggle Awards
At the 2021 Golden Goggle Awards, Finke took home the coveted award for “Male Race of the Year” for his 800 meter freestyle race at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
On his “Male Race of the Year” win, Finke remarked, “That was great. I knew all of those races were really close to each other. Caeleb Dressel’s races were really good, and there was just something different about each race. It was amazing just to watch those races.”
“I am glad I could provide people with some entertainment in the long races,” he added.
He was also nominated for “Breakout Performer of the Year” and for “Male Athlete of the Year” at the Golden Goggle Awards.
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he responded, “Learning.” “I am still learning from this summer, not necessarily what went right but what went wrong. Just because you had a really good season, there are always points to learn. I can always try and do better,” he said.
Future plans
Regarding his plans for the future, Finke revealed, “To continue training and swimming. It’s my last year of college. We are allowed to take a fifth year because of COVID, we will see about that. If I don’t take it, I think I will have more opportunities and more time to progress myself throughout the sport.”
“The 2022 SEC Swimming Championships are in six weeks so I will be training for those and the NCAAs, and after that, is World Trials. The 2022 World Championships in Japan are pretty early this year,” he said.
Rapid Fire Questions
Finke also took some time to answer a few “Rapid Fire” questions.
Waffles or pancakes? Pancakes
Flying or driving? Driving
City living or country living? Country living
Summer or winter? Summer
Library or museum? Museum
Bath or shower? Shower
Pepsi or Coke? Neither… I hate soda
Texting or calling? Calling, it’s much easier and it’s more personal
Half-full or half-empty? Half-full
Curly fries or normal fries? Curly fries
Skydiving or scuba diving? Skydiving
Indoor pool or outdoor pool? Outdoor pool
Tea or coffee? Tea
Rain or snow? Snow, I think it’s more fun for me
Singing or dancing? Dancing, I would be better at dancing since I can’t sing
Burgers or tacos? Burgers
Long course or short course? Long course
Money or fame? This one is tricky, fame can get you money
To learn more about Olympian and Florida Gator Bobby Finke, follow him on Instagram.
