ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the Olympic torch blazes over Tokyo more than 7,000 miles away, folks here at St. Pete Aquatics are fired up too over one of their own swimming for the gold.

Bobby Finke is already a champion to swimmers here. Now they’re all anxious to see him take on the best in the world. It’s a special moment for his dad, who coaches swimming. 

"Pride doesn’t even come close to describe how I feel," Coach Joe Finke said. “I don’t have words to describe it.”

Coach Finke says Bobby took the plunge when he was six-years-old and hasn’t stopped swimming since. He’s quick to admit where his son gets his talent from.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a swimmer,” Joe said. “I’m a swim coach, but I’m not a swimmer. My wife, his mother, is a swimmer.”

Sawyer Hansen, 10, says he’s been swimming since he was one and hopes to follow in Bobby’s wake when the Summer Olympics come to Los Angeles in 2028.

“For me it would be like a whole dream come true," Sawyer said. “It would be amazing being there and that whole atmosphere. I just think that that is my dream and that’s why I want to go.”

Like most Olympic families, COVID is forcing the Finkes to watch Bobby from home. His first race is Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. Eastern. His dad says that makes him even more nervous. 

“In the stands I could scream my head off and no one would pay attention to me," Joe said. “If I do that at home, I’ve got two daughters that would say 'Stop that, Dad.”