Noblesville's Luke Whitlock, 18, finishes 15th in 800-meter freestyle Olympic heats

PARIS – Luke Whitlock could not summon the same fast finish that propelled him into the Paris Olympics.

The Noblesville 18-year-old finished 15 ^th Monday in heats of the 800-meter freestyle and did not make the cut to eight for Tuesday’s final at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France.

His time was 7:49.26, or about four seconds slower than the 7:45.19 that placed second in last month’s Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Luke Whitlock: How Noblesville swimmer went from outside top 1,000 teens to Olympic trials contender

Through 200 meters, Whitlock was at 1:53.81, about the same as the 1:53.56 from Indianapolis. Swimming World had called Whitlock a “feel-good surprise” of the trials.

Whitlock, representing Fishers Area Swimming Tigers, and Thomas Heilman, 17, are the youngest U.S. men’s swimmers at an Olympics since 2000.

Whitlock said he felt sick in days leading up to the race because of allergies.

“I kind of let it get to my head a little bit,” he said. “I just didn’t have the speed at the end I normally have. Started to get tired too quickly. Not very happy with it.”

In camps in North Carolina and Croatia, he was in workouts with defending Olympic champion Bobby Finke. Whitlock will continue doing so when he enrolls at the University of Florida, where Finke also trains.

“I’ll be looking forward to trying to get back in 2028,” Whitlock said. “I’m happy for the experience. It’s been fun, everything here.”

Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, the reigning world champion, had the top time of 7:41.53 -- or .25 seconds off the Olympic record. Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi, 19, was second in 7:42.07.

Italy’s Gregorio Paltrineiri was third in 7:42.48. He was gold medalist in 2016 and silver medalist in 2021.

Australia’s Elijah Winnington, silver medalist in Saturday’s 400 freestyle, was fourth in 7:42.86. Finke was fifth in 7:43.00.

Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com . Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

-

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Noblesville's Luke Whitlock, 18, finishes 15th in 800-meter freestyle Olympic heats