Nicolas Fink
Nic Fink is an American breaststroker and National Team Member. He qualified for his first international team in 2013 after finishing second at the US National Championships / US World Championship Trials. At the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Fink finished 8th in the 100m breaststroke. He qualified for both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
University of Georgia
Nic Fink is from Morristown, New Jersey and attended The Pingry School before enrolling at the University of Georgia. He has had several scoring appearances at the NCAA Championships for the Bulldogs. As a freshman, he finished 10th in the 200 breaststroke, and 17th in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. As a sophomore, he finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke. His junior year, he finished second in the 100 breaststroke, third in the 200 breaststroke, and seventh in the 200 IM. Fink returned for his senior season in 2014, and at the 2015 NCAA Championships Fink touched in 2nd in the 100 breast and 4th in the 200.
International Career
2013 FINA World Championships
At his first international meet, Fink finished 8th in the 100 meter breaststroke in 1:00.10 just behind his compatriot, Kevin Cordes who finished 7th in 1:00.02
2013 Duel in the Pool
In 2013, Fink competed in the Duel in the Pool for Team USA against the European All Stars. He finished fifth in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes.
2014 Pan Pacific Championships
In 2014, Fink finished second in the 100 breaststroke at the Summer National Championships to earn a spot on the Pan Pacific Championships team and book his ticket to Gold Coast, Australia. At the Pan Pacific Championships, he won a silver medal in the 200 breaststroke and just missed the podium in the 100 breaststroke finishing 4th.
2015 World Cup
Competing in a long course pool, Fink was one of two American breaststrokers to compete in the 100-meter breast — he qualified for finals, and finished with a silver medal. Fink was less than a half-second away away from beating World Championship silver medalist Cameron Van der Burgh.
2016 FINA World Short Course Championships
At the World Short Course Championships in Windsor, Canada, Fink finished 4th in the 200 meter breaststroke in 2:03.79. He also made the final in the shorter breaststroke distance, finishing 7th in 57.22.
2017 World Championship Team Trials
Fink qualified for his second Long Course World Championship team in the 200 meter breaststroke. He finished 2nd behind Kevin Cordes in 2:08.63 and touching out Olympic silver medallist in the event, Josh Prenot.
2017 World Championships
In Budapest Fink, made it to the final of the 200 meter breaststroke where he finished 5th in a new best time of 2:08.56, just ahead of his USA teammate Cordes who finished 6th.
2017 Winter National Championships
Fink took gold in the 100 breaststroke in a speedy 50.80 and took Cody Miller’s Championship Record by 0.24 seconds. Miller was also in the race for gold but had to settle for silver with the time of 50.98.
2018 National Championships
In Irvine at the summer nationals, Fink placed 6th in the 50 breast (27.49), 6th in the 100 breast (1:00.12), and 4th in the 200 breast (2:09.24). His finish in the 200 breast qualified him to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games for the US in Lima, Peru.
2019 Pan American Games (Lima, Peru)
In Lima, Fink touched for silver in the 200 breast, going a lifetime best of 2:08.16 to finish 2nd behind his USA teammate, Will Licon.
Fink was given the chance to swim on the prelims of the 4×100 medley relay, and after splitting 58.86 in the morning, he was chosen to swim in the final relay as well. In finals, Fink split 58.57, helping USA take down the games record and secure gold in a time of 3:30.25.
2021 Olympic Trials
Fink started off his meet strong, recording a 58.50 pb in the 100 breast in semi finals. However, in the final heat, he touched at 58.80, .05 from first and .06 away from 2nd, relegating him to 3rd. In the 200 breast a few days later though, Fink got the job done, taking the win in dominant fashion in 2:07.55, making his first-ever Olympic team.
2020 Olympic Games
In Tokyo, Fink advanced to the final at his first Olympic Games in his lone event, the 200 Breast. In the final, Fink raced to a time of 2:07.93, placing 5th overall.
2021 Short Course World Championships
In Abu Dhabi, Fink raked in a total of 6 medals, including 3 gold, 2 silver, and a bronze. Individually, he won the 50 and 200 breast as well as placed 3rd in the 100 breast. He also helped Team USA to a gold in the 200 medley relay and silver in the 400 medley and 200 mixed medley relays.
2022 World Championship Trials
In Greensboro, Fink qualified for the world champs at his first opportunity, tying for the win in the 200 breast with Charlie Swanson in 2:08.88. The next night, he placed 2nd in the 50 breast, not only going a PB of 26.55 but also dipping under the old American record (which Michael Andrew broke by winning the event in 26.52). He finished his meet off by winning the 100 breast in a new PR of 58.39.
2022 World Championships
Fink earned his first-ever LCM world medal on day 2 in Budapest, winning bronze in the 100 breast. After going out well ahead of the pack, Fink was passed in the last 15 meters by Niccolo Martinenghi of Italy and Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands but held on for 3rd place overall with a 58.65.
Fink continued his medal train in the 50, this time with gold as he out-touched the Italian Martinenghi in 26.45. That was not only an American record but made Finke the first US man to win gold in the 50 breast. Fink made it double gold on the night in the 4– mixed medley relay later in the session, splitting 57.86 on the breast leg to help USA dominate the heat.
2023 U.S. International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Unsurprisingly, the 2 top seeds Nic Fink and Michael Nadrew led the prelims of the 50 breast with 27.08 and 27.19 respectively. The time was a season-best for Fink, In the final, the pair was able to separate themselves from the field as the only 26-point-something swimmers. Fink posted a strong 26.74 while Andrew, yet to assure his Worlds spot, got 2nd in 26.87. The swim moves Fink to 4th in the world so far and qualifies him for a rare 5th World Championship.
In the 100 breast, Fink was the only man under 1:00 in prelims with a 59.94. In the finals, it was all Fink as he had field-leading splits on both 50s. His winning time of 58.36 was a hair under his best time of 58.39, a world-leading time, and draws him ever closer to Michael Andrew’s 58.14 American Record as he nears 30 years of age. Post-meet, to the surprise of few, he announced he was moving to train at SMU. Earlier this month, Fink’s wife, fellow Olympian and former University of Georgia teammate Melanie Margalis Fink, was announced as the new assistant coach for the SMU women’s swim team.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
In the 100 breast, Fink laid back in prelims with a 59.38 for 5th. In semis, he showed a bit more life with a 58.88 for 3rd. In the final, Fink was second at the turn to Qin Haiyang, down the stretch, the field came back to Fink a bit as Arno Kamminga and Nicolo Martinenghi surged to the finish. “It’s a slow process because I look at my name and I see it too and then I kind of see everyone else’s reaction and I’m like, ‘wait what’s happening?’” Fink recalled post-race. “I see, oh, I actually tied Arno for second. That’s great. And Nicolò is also celebrating. I’m like, wait a minute ‘1, 2, 3’? Oh, he’s also second too!” Fink, Kamminga, and Marinenghi all tied for 2nd in 58.72, 1.03 seconds back of Qin and all off their bests.
Fink cruised through the 50 breast prelims with a 26.91. In semis, he was a similar 26.95 for 6th. It was all Qin in the final as he dominated with a 26.29 but Fink led the rest of the swimmers with a 26.59 for silver. In the same session, he threw down a 58.19 breast split on the mixed 400 medley relay as the American team claimed bronze.
On the 400 medley relay, Fink split a solid 58.03 to keep the United States in 1st. The rest of the team pulled through and the US men earned their first relay gold of the meet in a championship record.
2024 US Olympic Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Fink led prelims of the 100 breast with a 59.24. In semis, Fink was a little slower with a 59.46 for 3rd into the final. There, Fink blazed out to a 27.08 at the turn and held off a charging field to qualify for a 2nd Olympic Games with a 59.08.
