I haven't said much about the recent Paris Olympics, and there was quite a bit to say. But I finally got around to saying a little bit about the men's 1500 meter freestyle, which American Bobby Finke won, setting a new world record in the process.
It was a little unexpected, a lot amazing, and totally heroic. Finke took the lead on the first 100 and never gave it up, which is not his style. And he said that he was in a great deal of hurt being chased, but he maintained the furious pace he started on, and then there was this (from the Washington Post article about the race):
"Somehow, after 29 lengths of the pool, Finke dropped an ungodly split of 26.27 on the final 50 meters. For context, that was faster than the closing 50 of any of the eight swimmers in the final of the men’s 200 free a week earlier, a far shorter race that is more akin to a sprint than a test of endurance. It was borderline superhuman."So, in truth, he deserved it.
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