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PARIS — Bobby Finke, trying to defend his stunning gold medal from Tokyo, settled for silver in the men’s 800-meter freestyle here at the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday.
Finke, hanging in or around third for most of the race, tried to chase down Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri with his signature closing speed. He was behind by over a second at the 750-meter mark. He nearly drew level at 775.
But Wiffen found another gear, and sped to gold. Finke touched in 7:38.75, behind Wiffen’s Olympic record time of 7:38.19. Paltrinieri took bronze.
Finke’s medal is the 14th won by an American swimmer here at Paris La Défense Arena in less than four days, by far the most of any country. But only two of the 14 have been gold.
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Finke, now 24, raced much like he did three years earlier, hanging with the leaders of the pack for 750 meters, then almost sprinting the last length of the pool, this time to the delight of American fans in the crowd.
But this time, his competitors knew he was lying in wait. Paltrinieri fell off. But Wiffen preserved enough juice, and denied Finke a repeat.
He’ll have a chance to defend his other Tokyo gold, in the 1500, this coming weekend.