A full-time engineering engineer Nic Fink is thrilled to have won this, the very debut Olympic award of his recently-blooming career

For Nic Fink it was a long-distance wait. This only made it more delicious.

 

 

NANTERRE, France (AP) — For Nic Fink, this was a long time coming.

It only made it sweeter.

The 31-year-old athlete, who splits time in the pool along with an engineering career full-time was awarded the very first Olympic award of his career that was in its final days on Sunday night.

Fink was tied for Silver at the 100m breaststroke along with British legend Adam Peaty, just two-hundredths of a second ahead of the winner Nicolo Martinenghi from Italy.

For some, getting this close to winning the top spot on the podium could be a sigh of relief. However, not so for Fink. He’s not the same after all he’s gone through.

In his initial two visits to U.S. trials, he was not able to be a part of it onto the Olympic team. In 2021 He finally broke through but only to finish 5th at the 200-breaststroke event at the postponed pandemic Tokyo Games.

And now, finally the man has found the long-sought piece of hardware.

“Yeah it’s just a number in some ways,” Fink said. “But in another way it is more significant in the present, particularly because there were certainly opportunities to end my career earlier, but I persevered because I loved the game. The fact that I have had this much success in the last few months has been the cherry on top and lots of enjoyment.”

Fink has already begun on the next stage of his existence.

He is employed by Quanta Utility Engineering Services, remote-based at his house in Dallas. A lot of multitasking abilities are needed however Fink as well as his colleagues including his coaches who train him on the campus of SMU and his engineers are able to do it.

If this isn’t enough Fink along with his spouse ex- Olympic athlete Melanie Margalis Fink, are expecting their first child in September.

When Fink got a place on his U.S. team at the trials in Indianapolis earlier this month was able to recall an elongated motion to his wife who was cheering from the crowd. With the due date just two months off, she was not capable of traveling to Paris.

“The doctor said”Yeah, I think we’re quite close to any kind of travel even international travel”” Fink said. “I believe she’s alongside me. It’s a shame she’s not here but it’s the best possible reason.”

He seemed like a nervous father when he spoke about his wife’s watching his thrilling race returning to home.

“I believe she got her heart rate up just as high as I did,” Fink said. “I’m hoping that she can unwind a bit, keep hydrated, and then lay down as she was moving around.”

Peaty was the reigning two-time gold medallist in this competition. Fink was ecstatic to be able to share stage with the best breaststrokers ever.

“He’s an iconic figure in the field,” he said. “And it’s great to see Nicolo at the track is really enjoyable. We’ve been racing for a long time I think. It’s really fun to be on the podium with all of those people.”

With everything that’s happening in Fink’s life right now, this is sure to be the last Olympics in the life of Fink.

If it sounds to be a bit overwhelming, consider again. This is a man who is adept at balancing his act.

And also patience.

“It’s becoming better each day,”” Fink said. “To achieve this level of success at this event in a sport that I’ve put so much effort into my career, is amazing. It’s also cool to see that it could be able to lead into something else, that’s very cool.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games