The Florida Gators are swimming in gold in Tokyo after Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke won their Olympic races in dramatic fashion.
Dressel captured the 100-meter freestyle with an Olympic-record time of 47.02 seconds to hold off 2016 gold medalist Kyle Chalmer of Australia. A little more than an hour earlier, Finke staged an incredible comeback during the 800-meter freestyle to surge past Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk and finish with a personal-best time of 7:41.87.
After winning his first individual gold medal during the Olympics, Dressel broke down in tears on national TV while speaking over videoconference to his family and wife back in Florida.
“I don’t know if it’s set in yet,” a choked-up Dressel said. “Right now, I’m just kinda …. It’s a really tough year. It’s really hard. So to have the results here … It really came together so I’m happy.”
On the podium, Dressel stood with his medal draped around his neck, his right hand over his heart and his eyes filling up with tears.
Dressel’s victory in the 100 free was anything but certain for the most dominant American male swimmer, but likely began a run of gold medals for the 24-year-old from Green Cove Springs, located about 75 minutes northeast of Gainesville.
Dressel already had captured a gold medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay, adding to the two relay golds he won at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Dressel will compete in five more events in Tokyo, two individual sprints and three relays, and be favored to win all of them.
Meanwhile, Finke’s victory was more surprising, and perhaps even more riveting. The 21-year-old from Clearwater was trailing when he made his final and 15th flip turn during the demanding 800-meter event.
Finke would chase down Paltrinieri and Romanchuk to become the first American male swimmer to win gold in an Olympic distance race since 1984.
A rising senior at Florida, Finke arrived in Tokyo the just the 12th-best qualifying time in the race, being contested in the Olympics for the first time since 1904.
“I honestly did not expect to win. At all,” Finke said. “Let alone medal.”
Earlier in the week, Gators Kieran Smith and Natalie Hinds earned bronze medals.
Smith, a rising senior at UF, finished third during the 400-meter freestyle event. Hinds, a 2016 graduate, swam the third leg of the 4×100 freestyle relay, helping secure a third-place finish for the U.S. team.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Edgar Thompson at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com .
