PARIS, France — No sooner had he stepped out of the pool did Luke Whitlock start talking about the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
He made sense. The Noblesville 18-year-old finished 15th Monday in heats of the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics — but only one of the 14 swimmers ahead of him is younger.
“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.”
He 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 him second in last month’s Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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 the days leading up to the race because of allergies.
“I kind of let it get to my head a little bit,” Whitlock 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 participated 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.
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 400m freestyle, was fourth in 7:42.86. Finke was fifth in 7:43.00.
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.