Paris Olympics: Dressed for Success, Nic Fink Relishes Silver
Nic Fink still has the sweatsuit from the Tokyo Olympics. It’s gotten one less use than he would’ve desired.
When Fink qualified for his first Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, he carried medal expectations in the 200 breaststroke in his bag to Japan. They were tucked away with the set of pristine, white Nike sweats, the ones he would wear on the medal stand if given the chance.
Those hopes were dashed with a fifth-place finish in his lone event, his time of 2:07.93 eight tenths off the podium. But they were a reminder for Sunday night, three years later and a continent away, of what real disappointment looked like, in the face of questions about 0.02 seconds separating his silver medal from gold.
“In Tokyo, I brought my podium sweats and I didn’t get a chance to wear them,” Fink said. “That’s not a fun feeling in this sport. 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 and getting hardware for the USA, it’s an unbelievable experience.”
Fink earned that Sunday night at the Paris La Defense Arena with a gutsy swim in a crowded final of the men’s 100 breaststroke. Eight finalists in the men’s 100 breast, though sluggish by historical standards, were separated by just .95 seconds on the night. For the top four, it was .08, with Germans in the outside lanes nearly making things very interesting.
From left, Nicolo Martinenghi, Nic Fink and Adam Peaty celebrate their medals in the men’s 100 breaststroke on Sunday night; Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
The storylines were abundant in the final. Nicolo Martinenghi completing his ascent to world champion in 59.03, denying Adam Peaty’s third straight gold by .02, the veteran mainstay sharing his silver with another old hand in Fink (even while weakened by what turned out to be COVID). Beyond the center of the pool was Melvin Imodou of Germany finishing fourth in 59.11 from Lane 8 after having survived a swim-off to make the final, and his countryman Lucas Matzerath making a push from the opposite outside lane to fifth, all while Tokyo silver medalist Arno Kamminga slipped to sixth and 2023 triple world champion Qin Haiyang of China plummeted from first at the turn to seventh.
It’s more narratives than you can fit in even the most generously pocketed Nike full-zip. But Fink’s attire nonetheless played a role.
At 31, his journey has been as lengthy as any, if not always on the global stage. The former University of Georgia swimmer from New Jersey has taken great strides in his late 20s. He went from a pair of seventh-place finishes at Trials in 2016 to Tokyo in the 200, reinventing himself from a final in the 100 breast at the 2013 World Championships to his first medal (in the relay) nine years later in Budapest. The journey included, fitting enough for Sunday, a three-way tie for silver at World Championships in Fukuoka with Kamminga and Martinenghi, behind Qin. In parallel, he’s grown from an engineering student in Athens to an engineer with a master’s degree and an expecting father this fall.
So winning silver felt nothing like losing gold.
“I think having a perspective of everything going on in my life outside of the pool has been really helpful for me to reach such an accomplishment and at this stage in my career,” he said. “I think I’m still in meet mode, but I’m sure I’ll gain more perspective once the meet’s over.”
Fink’s future holds a men’s medley relay at the end of the meet and (almost certainly) a mixed medley swim. He dodged a retirement question Sunday night, saying that he, “could have probably closed the door a couple times on my career, and it’s only gotten better and better.”
As for Fink’s loungewear, the Tokyo sweats are still at home, over and above the slight objections of wife Mel Margalis (who, for the record, has her set from the 2016 Games). They don’t get a lot of time in Fink’s rotation, and the ones from Paris might not either.
But they’re all part of the journey, in whatever corner of his Dallas-area closet they may currently reside.
“It’s cool memories and lots of fun being there and being part of Team USA,” Fink said. “So I don’t wear the all whites out and about, but it is fun to have in the closet somewhere.”
