Dressel and Finke, oh my! How Florida Summer Olympians have performed so far in Paris

For the last 12 days, Paris has captivated the world for the Games of the 33rd Olympiad.

Americans, in turn, have awed and been inspired by our athletes representing the Stars and Stripes on the other side of the world.

But what about the participants who have graced Gainesville’s humid air?

It’s been another successful Olympics for the Orange and Blue, with Gator alums earning 10 medals thus far (three gold, four silver and three bronze).

If UF was its own country, it would rank tied for 14th in total medals and 13th in golds.

Here’s how UF athletes have fared so far in the City of Lights:

Bobby Finke, Caeleb Dressel steal the show so far

Of Florida’s 10 medals so far, half can be attributed to two men:

Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke.

Dressel has received some flack for a “lackluster” performance in this Olympics.

He finished 6th in the 50m freestyle and failed to qualify for the final in the 100m butterfly – two events in which he took gold in Tokyo.

Still, Dressel repeated for gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay, and in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, as well as a silver in the 4x100 MR.

Florida’s signature moment in the pool came, though, from Dressel’s training partner – Finke. The Gator from 2018-2022 notched a silver in the 800m last week, medaling for the second consecutive Olympics.

However, the Clearwater native turned on the jets and swam a phenomenal 1500m race Sunday afternoon. He set a new world record and continued a 120-year streak of an American man winning gold in the pool in what was the final individual event of the Olympics.

Finke told People Magazine Monday that the crowd at Paris’ La Defense Arena, something he didn’t have in Tokyo, propelled him, but so did seeing the world record line on the jumbotron.

“I could see that I was half body length, a body length ahead of it,” Finke told People. “And when I was seeing that, I was just getting a little more motivated and I was like, ‘Here we go. I got to keep going.’”

Finke’s win served as one of the highlights of the Olympics, but it wasn’t the lone one in the pool for the Gators.

Emma Weyant medaled in the 400m IM for the second straight games. The Sarasota native won silver in Tokyo and now bronze in Paris.

Kieran Smith also repeated from Tokyo. The Gator from ’18-’22 took home silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay after a bronze in the 400m freestyle.

While Dressel struggled to regain his 2020 form, another Gator shined in Josh Liendo. The Canadian swimmer just missed the podium in 4th in the 50m free.

But the Toronto native and rising junior earned it with a Canadian best 49.99 in the 100m butterfly to take silver.

Outside the pool

Thus far, two other medals from Florida athletes were claimed outside the pool.

First, on the hardwood, UF women’s basketball assistant coach Rhyne Howard re-laced her sneakers and starred for Team USA in the 3x3 basketball. The team began 0-3 in Paris but rebounded and won bronze over Canada on Monday. Howard scored four points in the game.

While many Americans were still focused on swimming last Saturday, track and field began at Stade de France.

Jasmine Moore made an immediate mark with a bronze in the triple jump. The Texas native and Gator from 2022-23 became the first American to medal in that event.

Moore is still set to compete in the long jump. You can read more about that here.

Florida connections run outside UF alums

Two other non-UF alums who found success in Paris are worth mentioning.

First is Katie Ledecky. The Maryland native further solidified her status as the GOAT of female swimmers with two more golds (800 and 1500m), a silver (4x200m freestyle) and a bronze (400m freestyle).

Ledecky did not attend Florida for school, but after the Tokyo games, the Stanford alum began to train with Anthony Nesty in Gainesville. She also became a volunteer coach for the men’s and women’s Gator squads, a post in which she remains.

On the track, Noah Lyles created the most dramatic moments of these games Sunday. He BARELY took gold in the 100m and became the U.S.'s first “World’s Fastest Man” in 20 years.

Turns out, he’s got Gainesville connections, too. Lyles was born in Gainesville and remained here until age 7. His family moved to Alexandria, Virginia, but Lyles intended to return to North Central Florida to attend UF.

However, he chose to go pro in 2016, and the rest is history.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.