Thursday, July 21, 2022
Building Champions: Nic Fink
“Throughout the physical and mental rollercoaster that has been my swimming career, if I
had to describe it in one word, it would be perseverance.”
And Nic Fink’s perseverance has paid off. The 2020 Olympian may have left Tokyo without a medal, but last year he earned six medals at the FINA World Championships (25m). Now, he just collected four medals from the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary (two gold, one silver and one bronze).
In this installment of Building Champions, Fink explains how the tough times have helped mold him into the successful individual he is both in and out of the water.
How has swimming shaped who you are?
Swimming is not for the faint hearted: the early mornings, the cold water, the countless times swimming up and down the same lane.
But there can also be great joy in the sport. I love the grind of trying to create the very best
version of yourself, and I love to represent my country on some of the biggest stages in the
sport. Sometimes, navigating the highs and lows of the sport is the biggest challenge. Sustained success is hard to come by and it is because of my perseverance that every time that I was knocked down, I was able to get back up.
I started my international career when I qualified for my first world championships in
2013. After that meet, I qualified for the next two major international meets for that quad, and I
had very high expectations for Olympic Trials in 2016. After making the “A” travel team for
Team USA for three consecutive years, I was crushed when I failed to perform my best at
Olympic Trials and I missed the Olympic Games in 2016. For a while, I didn't even want to see
a pool again, but with the help of my family, teammates, coaches and friends, I was able to find
my love for the sport again. The next year, I rebounded and qualified for the 2017 World
Championships. Working harder than ever, I was able to persevere through the lowest moment
of my swim career and get back to making the worlds team.
The next couple of years, I was faced with many similar challenges of missing the Pan-Pacific Championships Team, and the world championships team, but I was fortunate enough to be chosen for the Pan American Team in 2019. In Peru is when I went a best time in the 200 breast and my first major drop-in time since 2015. I was able to persevere through three seasons of up-and-down results to break a barrier I had been pushing on for years. I was going into the 2020 Olympic year with momentum.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic shut the sports world down.
It was difficult to see the end of a four-year plan suddenly change, not really knowing if it would happen at all. On top of that, during a dryland session that fall, I broke my wrist and needed surgery. My situation was vastly different than a year ago, essentially starting from scratch. I was able to persevere through the injuries and through the mental difficulties of the COVID year, and I found myself on top of the podium at the 2021 Olympic Trials. Since then, I have enjoyed some of the best swims of my career, and I know that had I not persevered through the tough times, I would not be the swimmer or person that I am today.
What are some of your aspirations out of the pool?
Outside of the pool, I am just as motivated and competitive. While that may involve being competitive in board games, sports, or any sort of competition, this year I decided to channel my inner competitor into school.
I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016 and until recently, I have been focusing on my career as a professional swimmer. I studied electrical engineering at UGA and thought that one day I would go into that field for my post-swimming career. After the Olympic Games in 2021, I decided to apply to graduate school and I was accepted in the master’s program for electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech. This fall and spring, I have been balancing my career in the pool with one in the classroom. This has been, without question, one of the most difficult challenges of my life. To take five years off being in a classroom setting and begin graduate level engineering courses, was no small goal. To balance this with the daily grind of being a professional swimmer and after having to travel for meets and training trips has seemed almost impossible at some points.
Interestingly, when I am buried in schoolwork, I find myself motivated by some of the very same feelings that help motivate me in the water: the need to be the best version of myself, and to push the limits of what I can accomplish. So far, my studies seem to be going well as I am on track to graduate in the fall of 2022 and I have found an interest in Systems and Controls, as well as Digital Signal Processing. I plan on using this degree to get into the field of robotics and machine learning as I have always loved building things and figuring out how everyday technology works.
To learn how the USA Swimming Foundation is helping build champions like Nic, please visit https://www.usaswimming.org/foundation.
had to describe it in one word, it would be perseverance.”
And Nic Fink’s perseverance has paid off. The 2020 Olympian may have left Tokyo without a medal, but last year he earned six medals at the FINA World Championships (25m). Now, he just collected four medals from the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary (two gold, one silver and one bronze).
In this installment of Building Champions, Fink explains how the tough times have helped mold him into the successful individual he is both in and out of the water.
How has swimming shaped who you are?
Swimming is not for the faint hearted: the early mornings, the cold water, the countless times swimming up and down the same lane.
But there can also be great joy in the sport. I love the grind of trying to create the very best
version of yourself, and I love to represent my country on some of the biggest stages in the
sport. Sometimes, navigating the highs and lows of the sport is the biggest challenge. Sustained success is hard to come by and it is because of my perseverance that every time that I was knocked down, I was able to get back up.
I started my international career when I qualified for my first world championships in
2013. After that meet, I qualified for the next two major international meets for that quad, and I
had very high expectations for Olympic Trials in 2016. After making the “A” travel team for
Team USA for three consecutive years, I was crushed when I failed to perform my best at
Olympic Trials and I missed the Olympic Games in 2016. For a while, I didn't even want to see
a pool again, but with the help of my family, teammates, coaches and friends, I was able to find
my love for the sport again. The next year, I rebounded and qualified for the 2017 World
Championships. Working harder than ever, I was able to persevere through the lowest moment
of my swim career and get back to making the worlds team.
The next couple of years, I was faced with many similar challenges of missing the Pan-Pacific Championships Team, and the world championships team, but I was fortunate enough to be chosen for the Pan American Team in 2019. In Peru is when I went a best time in the 200 breast and my first major drop-in time since 2015. I was able to persevere through three seasons of up-and-down results to break a barrier I had been pushing on for years. I was going into the 2020 Olympic year with momentum.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic shut the sports world down.
It was difficult to see the end of a four-year plan suddenly change, not really knowing if it would happen at all. On top of that, during a dryland session that fall, I broke my wrist and needed surgery. My situation was vastly different than a year ago, essentially starting from scratch. I was able to persevere through the injuries and through the mental difficulties of the COVID year, and I found myself on top of the podium at the 2021 Olympic Trials. Since then, I have enjoyed some of the best swims of my career, and I know that had I not persevered through the tough times, I would not be the swimmer or person that I am today.
What are some of your aspirations out of the pool?
Outside of the pool, I am just as motivated and competitive. While that may involve being competitive in board games, sports, or any sort of competition, this year I decided to channel my inner competitor into school.
I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016 and until recently, I have been focusing on my career as a professional swimmer. I studied electrical engineering at UGA and thought that one day I would go into that field for my post-swimming career. After the Olympic Games in 2021, I decided to apply to graduate school and I was accepted in the master’s program for electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech. This fall and spring, I have been balancing my career in the pool with one in the classroom. This has been, without question, one of the most difficult challenges of my life. To take five years off being in a classroom setting and begin graduate level engineering courses, was no small goal. To balance this with the daily grind of being a professional swimmer and after having to travel for meets and training trips has seemed almost impossible at some points.
Interestingly, when I am buried in schoolwork, I find myself motivated by some of the very same feelings that help motivate me in the water: the need to be the best version of myself, and to push the limits of what I can accomplish. So far, my studies seem to be going well as I am on track to graduate in the fall of 2022 and I have found an interest in Systems and Controls, as well as Digital Signal Processing. I plan on using this degree to get into the field of robotics and machine learning as I have always loved building things and figuring out how everyday technology works.
To learn how the USA Swimming Foundation is helping build champions like Nic, please visit https://www.usaswimming.org/foundation.