New Jersey native Nic Fink made history on Sunday, becoming the oldest first-time U.S. Olympic swimming medalist in modern history after tying two-time gold medalist Adam Peaty for the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi took home the gold in a photo finish race with Fink and Peaty, a Brit, both touching the wall at 59.05 seconds for the historic moment.
“With Adam, he’s a legend in the sport, and it’s awesome to see his comeback and his return, and to share the podium with him — let alone the silver medal — is an awesome experience,” Fink said, according to NJ.com. “To see Nicolo there as well, we’ve been racing together quite a while, so it’s really cool to share the podium with all those guys.”
It’s been 120 years since an American swimmer comparable in age to Fink had won their first medal in an Olympic competition, with it dating back to 1904 when 36-year-old Edgar Adams won silver for “plunge for distance,” SwimSwam reported.
While Olympic athletes train for years to compete on sports’ biggest stage – something Fink has done – the Morristown native also embodies the everyman aspect the Olympics can hold.
Fink has been swimming dating back to his days in high school, but he has also competed in recent years while holding down a regular 9-5 job at Quanta Utility Engineering Services, where he works remotely.
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The swimmer got his masters in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech, which he completed after competing in the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Fink and his wife – Melanie Margalis Fink, who won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro – reside in Dallas currently and are expecting their first child.
Fink had told NBC News recently that he thought working a regular job would have meant his swimming career was coming to a close.
Instead, he’s felt that the “balance has actually helped me in both.”
However, he isn’t oblivious to his age and what that usually means for athletes.
“Yeah, age is just a number in some sense,” Fink said, per the Associated Press. “But in another sense, it means more at this time, especially because there was definitely windows to close my career earlier and I kind of kept going for the love of the sport. To have this much success this late has been icing on the cake and a lot of fun.”
Fink will have another chance at a medal later this week when he competes in the 4×100-meter medley relay.
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