Florida Gators Swimmers Return To Gainesville With Medals, Stories and A Growing UF Olympics Legacy
*Watch the full press conference with Bobby Finke, Kieran Smith and Anthony Nesty at the bottom of the page.
The guys were tired, worn out and still in a bit of a daze. They’d been up for hours, flown from the other side of the world and been through a gauntlet that’s so daunting, it only happens every four years (or in the case of a global pandemic, five years).
But the past week had been such a fairy tale for two Florida Gators swimmers—juniors Bobby Finke and Kieran Smith—that they couldn’t help but smile, still caught up in the magic of it all as they met with local media after landing in Gainesville, and both sporting some new hardware.
Finke returned from the Tokyo Olympics with two gold medals, courtesy of two of the most improbable and exciting races in Olympics swimming history. The winner in both the 800 meter and 1500 meter races, Finke trailed in both before turning on burners in the last 25 meters of the long distance races to win gold.
"Leave it up to Bobby to get some excitement in the building,” joked Nesty.
Excitement is a bit of an understatement, but Nesty is typically an understated guy. That wasn’t the case as Finke won his first gold, in the 800 meter. Camera’s showed Nesty—who was in Tokyo as an assistant coach for Team USA—celebrating with clenched biceps, screams and general hysterics.
“He was tearing up a bit, which made me like, actually start tearing up a bit and I don't really cry that often,” recalled Finke of his post race interaction with Nesty. “So it was just really emotional and I was super excited and honored to be able to represent him and all the work he put into us, the University of Florida, and honestly just even the other athletes that he is coaching during the camp. So I was just super excited to see him cry and honestly just get so emotional. He doesn't really do it too often.”
It was hard not to get emotional watching Finke though. The comeback he made—twice—was unheard of…even to him.
“I did not come into this, even like really expecting to medal,” admitted Finke, medals clanking against each other as he smiled and remembered. “Like I really wanted to medal but I wasn't expecting to. But to come out of this with two golds, it's just, hats off to my coaches, really.
“When I saw that I won, I was just thinking things that I can't say on TV, but is just the most exciting and most honestly overwhelming thing ever and I'm just super grateful that I was able to show the hard work that my coaches put into me.”
The hard work from the coaches showed itself on the last legs of Finke’s races, as something he and Nesty discussed before hand paid off in the biggest of dividends.
Explained Finke, “So one of the biggest things we worked on this year was being able to switch to another gear at the end of a race because it's really grueling, especially for the mile and 800, you know, then you're really taxed, you've been holding that pace for such a long time.
“So being able to switch gears at the end of race is super important. I'd say it’s what kind of won me these medals. So just super glad we did that at the beginning of the year; small detail but it really paid off.”
Still, when he turned for the final leg, the conserved energy paid off, but the mindset was simple.
“It was just, ‘hey, there's Olympic gold on the line, I'm gonna do whatever I can to try and get that.’ So I just started sprinting.”
“Prior to the 800 and I said, ‘Bobby, this is an 800. It's not a 750, it’s not a 600, it's an 800,” added Nesty.
“You got to keep your composure. Because it's you know, the Olympics is always hyped up, especially the swimming part of the Olympics, and we can't get ahead of yourself. You have to have to be composed and you have to be patient.”
Patience and composure were the key to Smith’s Olympic medal as well. The Bronze medalist in the 400 meter freestyle, Smith bided his time and pushed for the wall at the end, riding the draft of the Gold medal winner in what proved to be a successful strategy.
“It was a weird one, visually to a spectator, because the middle of the pool went out so slow and you know three guys on my side of the pool and the two guys on the other side, were, were out relatively fast.
“The Tunisian swimmer that was next to me who ended up winning was a great help in that race because I was chasing him down in the last 50 [meters] which, without me knowing it, helped me hold off the the guys in the middle of the pool that were coming through. I saw the light on the block when I touched. I knew I was on the podium, it was just a matter of which color.”
For both guys, having former Gator Caeleb Dressel there in Tokyo, winning five gold medals and setting new world records, was also of the utmost help and motivation. Dressel was a senior when Smith and Finke were freshmen, and getting to be teammates with him again as he dominated the pool was special.
“We just had a massive hug,” said Finke of his most race moment with Dressel. “He later that night, I believe won the 100 free. So we just honestly had a really big tight hug and congratulated each other.”
More so than Dressel though, just having each other there was the biggest difference according to Finke and Smith.
Explained Finke, “It was honestly the biggest blessing. Especially with Nesty and Kieran there, obviously Caeleb, he’s gonna be there. It just made it more relaxing towards the beginning. I really didn’t have to adapt to a new coach or new warmups. I was just really grateful to have [them] there.”
“It’s helpful that I had Bobby and Caeleb and Coach Nesty there with us,” added Smith, before clarifying, “but at the same time we’re all lumped together as one Team USA and it’s a different environment than with a college team.”
For Anthony Nesty, an Olympic gold medalist himself (1988 Seoul games, 100m butterfly), being there as a coach was—well, special.
“It's definitely a special moment. As a coach, as a head coach at the University of Florida and having guys who came in three years as one of the best classes in the country and see them develop…it’s very special for me, Obviously I've been there as a as an athlete as well and to do it as a coach, having two athletes at the same Olympics getting medals it's extra special for me.”
Now Nesty will hit the recruiting trail, striking while the iron is hot with some extra hardware to show off to swimmers contemplating the University of Florida.
Smith will head home to Connecticut where he has plans to “not look at a pool for two weeks.” He’ll let his family and friends and club team take pictures with his bronze medal, before brining it back with him to Gainesville.
Finke will be putting his two golds in a safe. But while home in Clearwater for a couple of weeks, he’ll head to the hometown aquarium, where a seahorse has been named after him.
Then they’ll return to Gainesville, for a fall semester, a new season and back to normal life; at least normal life for a while. Nothing is every really the same once you’ve become an Olympic medalist. Then there’s Paris in 2024 and that training will start soon. For swimmers like Bobby Finke and Kieran Smith—and for that matter Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Lochte (who isn’t quite ready to hang up his swim trunks) getting to train with Anthony Nesty and former Florida and Team USA coach Gregg Troy makes Gainesville the place to be and the school they want to represent on the world stage.
“I think it's the best in the world for that matter,” commented Nesty. “Obviously it was a good showing by the Gators [in Tokyo] and that just means we’re doing things the right way here with us, training the guys to compete at the high level and women. And that's just an awesome—awesome for me, awesome for the athletes and it's awesome for the Gator Nation too, for us to get to that level and then represent, you know, not only us but also, University of Florida.”
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