The men’s 400 IM has given American swim fans to some of the most exciting battles at international selection meets, including a memorable battle at the 2008 Olympic Trials when Michael Phelps‘ outduelled Ryan Lochte en route to a new world record, and we were treated to another nail-biting showdown on Thursday at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis.
Carson Foster, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the event, looked to have things well under control in the final of the men’s 400 IM, but heading into the freestyle leg, he only held a 1.12-second advantage over Bobby Finke, the current world record holder and reigning Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 1500 freestyle.
Although Foster held onto the lead through the final turn, Finke turned on the jets, using his patented closing speed to run down Foster and claim the win in a time of 4:07.46, obliterating his previous best time of 4:09.55 and moving into 10th on the all-time performers’ list.
Foster settled for the runner-up spot in a time of 4:07.92, which, despite resulting in him not winning the event at a national selection meet for the first time since 2021, still marks the fourth-fastest swim of his career.
Split Comparison
| Finke | Foster |
| 56.28 | 55.67 |
| 1:58.90 (1:02.62) | 1:59.08 (1:03.41) |
| 3:11.27 (1:12.37) | 3:10.15 (1:11.07) |
| 4:07.46 (56.19) | 4:07.92 (57.77) |
RACE VIDEO
Courtesy of USA Swimming on YouTube
Finke and Foster now rank 2nd and 3rd in the world this season, respectively, only trailing world record holder Leon Marchand.
2024-2025 LCM Men 400 IM
MARCHAND
4:07.11
| 2 | Bobby FINKE | USA | 4:07.46 | 06/05 |
| 3 | Carson Foster | USA | 4:07.92 | 06/06 |
| 4 | TOMOYUKI MATSUSHITA | JPN | 4:08.61 | 03/20 |
| 5 | ASAKI NISHIKAWA | JPN | 4:09.63 | 03/20 |
At the 2025 World Championships, the men’s 400 IM final falls on the same night as the 1500 free, and Finke has said he would “probably scratch” the 400 IM at Worlds due to the conflict. If that comes to fruition, the second spot on the U.S. team in the event would go to Rex Maurer, who placed 3rd in a personal best time of 4:09.65.
Finke has already qualified for the World Championship team after winning the 1500 free on the opening night of racing in 14:48.65, and he’s scheduled to contest the 800 free to close out the competition on Saturday.
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