American Bobby Finke smashed the world record time as he defended his Olympic title in the men’s 1500m freestyle on Sunday, with Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri taking silver and Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen bronze.
Finke, who led from the outset, set a new world best time of 14:30.67, breaking the previous best of 14:31.02 set by China’s Sun Yang in London in 2012.
The American, who won gold in both 1500m and 800m freestyle in Tokyo, made his intentions clear from the outset, taking a clear lead in the opening laps.
He was out on his own until Paltrinieri, gold medallist in this event in Rio in 2016, narrowed the gap around the 850m mark.
The Italian was also swimming at a world record tempo but when it came down to the final four laps, Finke had kept some energy in reserve to ensure he reached the wall 3.88 seconds ahead of Paltrinieri.
Wiffen, who had won gold in the 800m freestyle ahead of Finke, had said before the race that it would take a world record time to win it.
He was correct but he was unable to deliver it, finishing 8.96 seconds behind Finke.
With AFP
