Nic Fink Wins Silver in Men’s 100 Breaststroke at Paris Olympics

American breaststroker Nick Fink finally won an Olympic medal, tying world record holder Adam Peaty of Great Britain for silver in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke final at La Défense Arena in Paris on Sunday night.

In a surprisingly close final on the second day of swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi took first place in 59.03 seconds to win the gold medal. Fink and Peaty, the 2016 and 2021 Olympic champions in the event, both reached the limit with a score of 59.05.

“With Adam, he`s a legend in the sport,” Fink said. “To share the podium with him, let alone the silver medal, it`s an awesome experience. And to see Nicolo there as well, it’s really fun.”

Fink, 31, a two-time Olympian, needed to improve a bit in Saturday’s semifinal time of 59.16 seconds to qualify for the final in fourth place. He improved by 0.11 seconds to secure a spot on the Olympic podium in his only individual event in Paris.

“I was putting myself in a position to kind of be there at the 75, at the 80,” Fink explained. “Then just close your eyes and just make it home. I think the [qualifying] races were kind of strategic and that I was kind of saving a little bit and putting myself in a position to just advance in the next round.

“Whereas this one, I wanted to put myself in a position to win, and I think it was evident that it was all right there, all really close.”

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Fink finished fifth in the 200 meters and missed out on a medal in the 50 meters breaststroke.

“In Tokyo, I brought my podium sweats, and I didn’t get a chance to wear them,” he said. “And that’s not a fun feeling in the sport.

“So to place at all and to share medals, it’s all great. It doesn’t matter what medal I got and who I’m sharing it with, as long as I get to be up on the podium, bringing hardware to [Team] USA.”