Bobby Finke Wins U.S. Swimming's First Individual Men's Gold of the Paris Olympics — and Sets a World Record

Finke also earned a silver medal in the men's 800-meter freestyle race earlier in the Games

Bobby Finke has done it again.

The star swimmer won the gold medal in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle race on Sunday, Aug. 2, setting a world record in the progress with his time of 14:30.67.

Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri took the silver, and Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen earned bronze.

The medal makes Finke, 24, the only U.S. men's swimmer to earn a gold medal in an individual race during the 2024 Olympics.

It was a unfortunate statistic that Finke told reporters afterwards, including PEOPLE, he was well aware of.

"I knew," he said with a laugh. "I was reading all the articles and all the comments and everything. I like reading that stuff, it kind of motivates me inside. But you know, the world's getting faster and I think it's a really good thing and a really healthy thing for the sport."

Related: Gold Medal Rower Justin Best First Got Into the Sport Because of The Social Network (Exclusive)

It's also his second medal of these Paris Games — he also earned the silver for the men's 800-meter free on July 30.

Finke's gold in the 1500-meters is a repeat of the 2020 Tokyo Games, when he also won the event.

"I was just happy I won," he told reporters, laughing. "I had a lot of pressure going into the race, I really wanted to defend that medal, I really wanted to get on top of that podium again. And hear the anthem all over again like I did in Tokyo. So to be able to do that was great."

The world record is made all-the-more impressive, as three-time medalist Gary Hall Sr. told PEOPLE earlier this week that the depth of the pool at La Défense Arena would likely make it more difficult to set a world record.

Related: Katie Ledecky Wins 800-Meter Freestyle, Tying Record for Most Gold Medals by Female Olympian

"The reason is simple — the pool is not deep enough," Hall Sr. explained, noting that the pool was "constructed at a depth of seven feet (2.16 meters), which is simply not deep enough to see the fastest swims possible."

"With a shallower pool, all the waves, vortices and streams caused by the powerful swimmers churning down the lanes either get dissipated by the lane lines, overflow onto the gutters on the sides, or reflect off the bottom of the pool," he said.

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