Trio of Olympic men's swimmers hails from New Jersey

NEW JERSEY (PIX11) -- Three members of the U.S. men’s swim team are representing New Jersey abroad at the Paris Olympics.

Nic Fink, of Morristown, won a silver medal Saturday in the breaststroke, becoming the oldest first-time Olympic swimming medalist in modern history.

Matt Fallon, who competes for the first time on Tuesday, holds more than half a dozen swim records at The Pingry School, where he and Fink are both alumni.

Tim Lear, Pingry’s head of school, said Fink was a role model for swimmers like Fallon.

“It wasn’t uncommon for me to see Nic Fink over winter break, coming back to swim when he was already an All-American and SEC champion four times over,” said Lear. “He would still come in to say hi to the kids on the team and to motivate them.”

Lear described both Fink and Fallon as top-notch athletes and students. “They were different,” said Lear. “Once they hit the water, you could just tell they were on another level.”

The trio of Jersey Olympic swimmers is rounded out by Jack Alexy, who has already picked up a gold medal in the Paris Games. He swam for both Delbarton School and the Greater Somerset County YMCA, alongside Fallon.

Alexy’s former Delbarton swim coach, Patrick Savidge, said Alexy’s work ethic always stood out.

“He was giving it everything he had [at morning practice]," said Savidge. “And then, he was gonna go to school for a full day, and then right after school he was gonna go to his club practice.”

Savidge likened Alexy’s swim meets to business trips. “He was taking care of business,” said Savidge. “He was doing what he needed to do.”