Jersey Native Nic Fink Captures Silver Medal

Morristown, New Jersey native Nic Fink captured the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Paris Olympics over the weekend, making him the oldest first-time American, 31 years old, to win an Olympic medal in 120 years.

Fink has an incredible story.He sat down for an interview to talk about his swimming career, and balancing that with a 9-5 job, marriage, and soon, fatherhood. He and his wife, Melanie Margalis Fink, are expecting their first child in a few weeks.

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, Fink attended Pingry School before swimming collegiately at Georgia University where his dreams of becoming an Olympic athlete took firm footing.

After competing in the Pan Pacific Championships in 2014, the Olympic trials in 2016, and the Pan Am Games in 2019, Fink finally made the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He qualified for the semifinals in the 200-meter breaststroke, placing fifth overall.

ALSO SEE: New Jersey’s Favorite Olympic Sport And The Athlete Representing It

Four years later, while juggling both family life, and a full-time job with Quanta Utility Engineering Services -- he holds a masters in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech, Fink made it all the way back to the Olympics.

He won his qualifier in the 100-meter breaststroke in June, and four weeks later, he was in Paris competing and earning an Olympic medal.

The race on Sunday was a dramatic one. Fink was out-touched by just .02 of a second by Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy - who wound up winning gold and tied with Adam Peaty of Great Britain for the silver.

Fink was quoted by ESPN as saying: "I was ready to move on to other stages while still trying to keep a high level in swimming. I think having the job really helps me compartmentalize everything. And if you have a bad day in the pool, it really takes your mind off things and kind of keeps you focused on other things in life. So that's why I like telling people to stay well-rounded and stay balanced because I think it only really helps in the pool."

Summer Olympics 2024 is officially in full swing in Paris following an Opening Ceremony for the ages.

Seriously, this Opening Ceremony had something for everyone, and get ready for us to do our best Stefon:

-Can-Can dancers.
-Lady Gaga.
-A surprising sub-plot in the overall ceremony's narrative that involved a ménage à trois.
-References to the beheading of Marie Antionette, which led into a performance from French metal band Gojira.

-A buttload of rain.
-Priceless artwork from the Louvre coming to life.
-A silver horse galloping across the Seine in majestic glory.

-A catwalk from out of nowhere highlighting France's club scene and the country's influence on fashion.
-A brief performance from Les Misérables.

And then, as if things couldn't get any more over-the-top, Celine Dion delivers a stunning performance of Edith Piaf's "Hymne A L'Amour" from inside of the Eifle Tower. The legendary singer has been battling stiff-person syndrome, which is a condition that impacts the central nervous system. This condition has affected Dion's ability to sing. She revealed her diagnosis in December 2022, stopped performing and made very few public appearances while she sought treatment to return to performing.

Even once the Olympic cauldron is extinguished, people will still be talking about this triumphant moment.

Now that we've gone through all of our tissues from happy-crying about Celine, it's time to get down to business and talk about the athletes.

This 2024 Opening Ceremony was very unique for the above reasons, but also because it saw the Parade of Nations actually make their way down the Seine in boats of all sizes. Some small countries had a small boat to themselves. Oftentimes, there were multiple countries sharing a boat, while countries with large delegations had massive boats just for their athletes.

Regardless of boat size, pretty much every athlete got drenched by the pouring rain throughout the entire Opening Ceremony. However, the rain didn't seem to dampen the moods of the athletes. In fact, Kelly Clarkson commented, "Everyone is killing that wet look. Just sayin’!"

Now, because of the rain, this led to many of the athletes to wear clear plastic rain ponchos over their Opening Ceremony outfits, which had to be a bit of a bummer. (It certainly got in the way of checking out all of the various team outfits.) However, this also made us take a closer look at the fashion choices of each nation, and it's led to our very serious (wink-wink) assessment of the best and worst fashion choices from the Summer Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony. Enjoy!