U.S. Nationals, Day 5 Finals: Bobby Finke Dominates 800 Free; Rex Maurer Second But Short of “A” Cut
A four-year run of excellence has seen Bobby Finke win a medal in both the 800 and 1500 freestyle at every major international competition in which he has competed, with the most recent highlight a wire-to-wire, world-record-setting effort in the 1500 free in Paris. Every time he faces international foes, Finke elevates his swimming to match the level of his competition, and leads are never safe if Finke is in range entering the last lap.
Carson Foster learned that lesson the hard way Thursday as Finke ran him down to win the national title in the 400 IM. But for the most part, Finke’s performances at selection meets have lacked the pizazz he brings to his medal-chasing races, not because the stakes are lower or his preparation is poor but because the competition is not pushing him to his upper limits.
In the 1500 free on the opening day of competition, Finke blasted ahead of his own world-record pace in the early portion of the race, but when the pain set in, the sub-30 splits melted away as no competitor was within eight seconds. He ended up with a time of 14:48.65, considerably behind the times posted by European rivals including 2019 world champion Florian Wellbrock and 800-meter Tokyo gold medalist Dan Wiffen, but no one doubts that Finke will be on their level or quicker when the moment counts most in Singapore.
Similar circumstances unfolded in the 800 free on the final night of U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, with Finke building a substantial lead from the early moments of the race and extending the margin throughout. Finke won the event in 7:43.13, moving to No. 5 in the world rankings behind the German trio of Lukas Martens, Sven Schwarz and Florian Wellbrock plus Irish Olympic gold medalist Dan Wiffen.
“I never actually go into the racing knowing I am going to be ahead,” Finke said of his performance “I always expect a challenge. I don’t really like going in and expecting anything. I always expect to be racing. And I think that helps me a lot because it kind of lowers my expectations. And if I am pretty far ahead, I get a motivation boost, and it helps me finish up the rest of the race. I’m used to racing these international guys. It’s a lot of fun racing them, and they always bring the best out of me.”
Finke’s training partner and fellow distance gold medalist Katie Ledecky chimed in on Finke’s performances with a bit of sarcasm. “Bobby swam his 800 much better than his 1500 I think,” she said. “I think both of our 1500s were not quite what we wanted, but the 800s were good. Bobby looked good out there today. Coming off the IM, Bobby had a few more rest days than I did, so he’s been slacking.”
It appears that no swimmer will join Finke in the event in Singapore. Rex Maurer edged out David Johnston for second place by three tenths, 7:49.53 to 7:49.85, but both marks were short of the World Aquatics “A” cut of 7:48.66. No team members aside from Finke have achieved that mark during the qualifying period.
Maurer held second place for the first 550 meters of the race, but it was back-and-forth in the final quarter of the race. Johnston moved slightly ahead with 200 meters left, only for Maurer to go back slightly ahead with 100 to go. Maurer was then able to turn to the speed that has helped him excel over 200 meters, and he got to the wall second.
Fourth place went to Luka Mijatovic, whose time of 7:53.80 came up less than two seconds short of the 15-16 National Age Group record of 7:52.05 held by Larsen Jensen. The fastest time out of the early heats went to Ryan Erisman in 7:54.64, and that held up for fifth.
However, no one loses out on a spot on the Worlds team. Johnston qualified for the team on the meet’s opening day by finishing second in the 1500 free while Maurer had already built a strong schedule for himself at the World Championships, with individual swims in the 400 free and 400 IM (thanks to Finke’s withdrawal) plus the 800 free relay. The 16-year-old Mijatovic blasted onto the senior-level scene as he finished second to Maurer in Friday’s 400 free final.
