Olympic athletes often juggle competing demands on their time and concentration. But among the athletes vying for glory at this summer's Paris Games, few have mastered the art of multitasking quite like U.S. national team swimmer Nick Fink.
In recent years, Fink has established himself as an award-winning competitive swimmer. He is a six-time world championship gold medalist and impressed spectators with his laser-focused intensity, finishing fifth in the men's 200m breaststroke at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Fink did all this while working a 9-to-5 job. He has a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech and received his degree after competing in Tokyo. He currently works remotely from his home in Dallas, which he shares with Quanta, where he works for Utility Engineering Services and his wife, Melanie, and his Margaris and Fink. Olympic swimmer who won a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“I thought if I spent more time in engineering, maybe my swimming career could start to end,” he said in a phone interview last month. “But finding that balance has actually helped on both fronts and my swimming is as good or better than it's ever been,” he adds with a laugh. “It was fun enjoying this part of the drive.”
Fink has a strong chance of earning a spot on the U.S. team at the Paris Games, especially after his upset victory in the men's 100-meter breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, in February. Seem. (He finished in 58.57 seconds, fending off competition from Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi and Britain's Adam Peaty, who won gold in Tokyo.)
By all accounts, Fink is in the prime of his chlorinated life. He turns 31 on July 3, 23 days before the Paris opening ceremony. But in the field of competitive swimming, he is also a late bloomer, recently putting in some of the best performances of his career at an age when many professional swimmers are nearing retirement.
“I don't really feel old,” Fink said. “But it's funny, because we all end up eating together as a team, and when we sit down, we realize there are a lot of people going through the recruiting process” for the university. “
“They’ll ask, ‘When did you go on your recruiting trip?’” I say, “Oh, that was 12 or 13 years ago.” It's really scary to hear that some of these kids were in third grade when I first made the world team,” Fink added. Fink grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, and attended the University of Georgia, where he majored in electrical engineering. engineering.
He admits he may not be able to train like he did as a teenager, but he doesn't think that's the limit at all. He's increasingly focused on honing his strengths: speed, technique and raw power. He also feels that being in his early 30s has given him more wisdom and emotional maturity about competitive swimming and his place in the demanding sport.
“I think getting older has helped me process everything more,” Fink said. “I'm not so passive…I'm more satisfied with whatever my results are. And I'm willing to give my best and know that it's almost like a bonus to my career at this point.” When I was younger, I was hungrier and more ambitious, but I also needed to prove myself.”
He wasn't always convinced that he belonged in the pool. “I didn't really like swimming since I was a kid,” he said. “It's early in the morning, and the water is cold.'' But eventually, thanks to the “social community'' that sprung up around his high school swim team, he learned the rigor, discipline, and self-control to continue getting in the water no matter how early he woke up. I put it on.
In his daily training, Fink focuses on the “mental, physical and emotional” demands of performing at an elite level. He aims to complete all of these tasks in advance so that “when the race comes, I don't have to think about it at all.”
University of Georgia coach Michael Norment, 49, who has worked closely with Fink, said he has always been impressed with Fink's athleticism. But in recent years, he has become even more impressed by Fink's intelligence, candor and dedication.
“It speaks to his ability to compartmentalize and think about everything that's going on in his life: graduate school, swimming, traveling, competing. I look at him and am just amazed. I don't think many people can do that. I don’t know,” Norment said.
Fink, who comes across as friendly and humble, said he is mainly focused on the summer right now and is trying not to make any big announcements about his future as a professional athlete.
“I don't want to say anything definitive, but there's definitely a point.” [where] Life beckons and life happens. The call to slow down becomes too strong to respond to. I certainly think I'm hearing that voice more and more these days, but I don't want to close the door on anything,” he said. “You never know. The focus is on this summer, but then we'll see what happens.”
