Team USA swimmer Nic Fink was within a sliver of glory or disaster when he ended up winning a silver medal in the men's 100-meter breaststroke in an incredible photo finish at the Paris Olympics.
The New Jersey native reflected on the heart-pounding finish on TODAY July 29 after winning his first Olympic medal.
"It was pretty surreal," Fink said alongside Olympic legend Michael Phelps. "A lot of times, it's almost cliché to say it's a fingernail touch, but it actually was last night.
"I was a fingernail away from first, but also a fingernail away from I think being off the podium, so it almost seems like it was meant to be second. And sharing the podium with Nico and Adam was really cool, too."
Fink, 31, tied Britain's Adam Peaty for silver at 59.05 seconds, while Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi edged them by two-hundredths of a second to win gold.
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Fink's achievement is particularly impressive given how much he has going on in his life outside the pool.
He works remotely as an engineer for Quanta Utility Engineering Services from his home in Dallas and is expecting his first child with his wife, former Olympic swimmer Melanie Margalis. She is an assistant swim coach at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
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"How incredible," Phelps said about Fink. "You think about all he's done this year. New baby coming, he's working, plus getting ready for the Olympic Games, and comes home with a silver medal. Oh my God."
Margalis, 32, who won a gold medal with the U.S. women's 4x200 freestyle relay team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, was not able to make the trip to France with the baby on the way. Fink is looking forward to a summer of celebration and fatherhood when he gets home.
"We're excited about what's coming up," he said. "As fun as all this experience is, it's going to be a really cool rest of the summer and beyond."
He also might get some dad tips from Phelps, who is a father of four boys. His wife, Nicole Johnson, was on the set of TODAY on July 29 holding their youngest child, 6-month-old Nico.
"I’ll give you some lessons," Phelps told Fink.
"I was about to say, I need some notes," Fink said.
"I got you," Phelps said.
While his wife wasn't able to be there in Paris, Fink was grateful for the return of roaring crowds to the Olympics. He participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where no spectators were allowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fink finished fifth in the 200-meter breaststroke and did not medal.
"It was interesting because I don't think the gravity of the situation was lost on anybody in Tokyo," Fink said. "It was still an Olympic Games, all that, it still felt that it was Olympic Games.
"Just seeing the empty stands and what could've been, but then coming here and kind of having that realized is a really fun experience and it was definitely something I was looking forward to this time around," he continued.
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