USA, facing a medal drought that would have snapped a 120-year streak, needed a hero on Sunday in Paris. Bobby Finke rose to the occasion.
The U.S. men started 0-for-13 in individual swimming events, meaning anything less than gold for Finke in the 1500-meter freestyle would have left the men without an individual gold medal for the first time since 1900.
Finke was far from assured gold in the 1500-meter. Ireland's Daniel Wiffen was considered to be a prime contender for gold, and Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri proved to be a serious challenger from the start of the race.
Still, it was Finke who led wire-to-wire and dominated the final 50 meters to win comfortably and capture the record.
Here's a look at Finke's world record performance and the streak it preserved.
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Bobby Finke world record
Finke swam the 1500-meter in 14:30.67 on Sunday, beating Sun Yang's world record of 14:31.02 set at the 2012 Olympics.
It was a wire-to-wire win for Finke, who jumped out to a small lead in the first 100 meters and never let anyone give him too much of a scare. Paltrinieri pulled within less than a meter of Finke at one point midway through the race, but Finke quickly built the lead back out to more than two meters.
When the final 50 meters arrived, Finke turned what had been a 2-3 meter lead into a lead of more than five meters. It was that final push that propelled him to a world record.
WORLD RECORD! @Robert_Finke goes back-to-back in the 1500m freestyle 🥇
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 4, 2024
📺: @NBCOlympics & @peacock #ParisOlympics
pic.twitter.com/AfkWyYvUFb
Finke, 24, won gold in the 800-meter and 1500-meter in Tokyo three years ago, but a silver medal in the 800-meter behind Wiffen in Paris made Wiffen the 1500-meter favorite in the eyes of some. Finke quickly put that idea to bed, with Wiffen finishing a distant third behind him and Patrinieri.
Finke swam the 1500-meter in 14:39.65 on his way to gold three years ago.
Men's 1500m freestyle world record progression
Here are the last 10 world record holders in the men's 1500-meter freestyle.
| Swimmer | Time | Country | Year |
| Vladimir Salnikov | 14:56.35 | Soviet Union | 1982 |
| Vladimir Salnikov | 14:54.76 | Soviet Union | 1983 |
| Jorg Hoffman | 14:50.36 | Germany | 1991 |
| Kieren Perkins | 14:48.40 | Australia | 1992 |
| Kieren Perkins | 14:43.48 | Australia | 1992 |
| Kieren Perkins | 14:41.66 | Australia | 1994 |
| Grant Hackett | 14:34.56 | Great Britain | 2001 |
| Sun Yang | 14:34.14 | China | 2011 |
| Sun Yang | 14:31.02 | China | 2012 |
| Bobby Finke | 14:30.67 | United States | 2024 |
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USA men's swimming gold medal streak
The United States has won at least one gold medal in an individual men's swimming event in each Summer Olympics since 1904. The modern Olympics began in 1896.
Charles Daniels began the streak with wins in the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle races in 1904. Plenty has changed since then, but the USA's dominance in the pool hasn't.
That almost wasn't the case this year. The American men won five individual medals over the first 13 events in Paris, but Finke represented the nation's only remaining hope at gold when he jumped in the pool for the 1500m.
The streak is saved, for now, but pressure is mounting on both the American men and women in swimming. The women have watched Australia catch up to them in many events, and the rise of Canada's Summer McIntosh has put the U.S. on notice as well.
No single country has separated itself as a clear challenger to the United States on the men's side, but the parity in Paris has been striking — swimmers from nine different countries have won a men's individual event this year, up from seven in Tokyo.
