The action has been thrilling, four nights deep into the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium. We’ve seen two world records fall, setting the stage for Team USA’s hopeful journey to Paris. Night 4 was particularly electric: Regan Smith made her World Record mark again in the women’s 100m backstroke, while fans were treated to a showdown between Caeleb Dressel and Jack Alexy in the 100m free.

The excitement continued with intense semifinals in the men’s 200-meter butterfly and the women’s 100-meter backstroke. The climax of the night, though, was the men’s 800-meter freestyle final, where Bobby Finke reaffirmed his Tokyo gold with an impressive win. However, amidst all this excitement, there was a sour note: many fans were left disappointed with NBC’s handling of the coverage during this critical race.

Why the men’s 800m freestyle final left fans frustrated

According to Omega Timing, in the men’s 800m freestyle final, Bobby Finke, the Tokyo gold medalist, solidified his chance to defend his Olympic title in Paris with a decisive victory. Finke touched the wall in 7:44.22, comfortably ahead of everyone except Luke Whitlock, another standout from Florida, who finished close behind and was likely to join Finke on the Olympic squad.

Despite the impressive race, the mood among fans soured when NBC abruptly cut away from the live coverage for commercial breaks. This upset many viewers who took to social media to express their frustration over missing key moments during such a pivotal event.

Swimming fans didn’t hold back the backlash at NBC

Posts on X began to highlight how fans were not only upset with the mid-coverage disruption but also expressed their concerns about the future. One fan voiced their frustration directly at the network, questioning, “There’s like 20 minutes of swimming in a 2 hour session. You’re telling me we can’t use some of those other 1 hour 40 minutes for commercials and show the 800 free??? #swimtrials24”

Another swimming fan echoed this sentiment, feeling it was disrespectful to the swimmers, suggesting, “It’s honestly so disrespectful towards the swimmers. I don’t understand why they can’t just show it. We can even meet in the middle and split screen.”

A GIF added humor to the disappointment, depicting Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory throwing papers in frustration: “Me during the 800 Free: let me grab my stop watch and get his splits. NBC: Ha good lucky buddy here is a 5 min commercial right after the 200 mark.”

Another fan expressed indignation with a Michael Scott meme, exclaiming, “No.” Yet another fan directly criticized NBC, saying, ‘Commercials during the men’s 800 free final. Thanks NBC.”

Finally, there was concern about future coverage, with one fan hoping, “Pretty tacky of NBC to cut out on 800 free. I guess they will do same on Ledecky 1500 as well.” Reflecting on this surge of fan sentiment, what are your thoughts on this disruption? Share your thoughts below!