Head of the Herd

With four national titles, Justin Finkel ’25 is the winningest Camel in Conn’s history.

Justin Finkel ’25 left it all in the pool at the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships—the final meet of his illustrious career. Having already defended his 2024 national title in the 500 freestyle on the first day of competition, Finkel repeated in the 200 butterfly, too, shattering his own NCAA Division III record in his final individual swim. 

A biology major from Cheshire, Connecticut, Finkel graduates with the most impressive collection of accolades in the history of Camel athletics—four NCAA individual national titles, 12 All-America selections, two National Swimmer of the Year designations, three consecutive NESCAC Swimmer of the Year honors and eight individual NESCAC titles. He was also named to the 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Division III Men’s Swimming & Diving First Team after earning third team honors last year, and was honored as the 2025 Jay Fiedler Outstanding College Athlete of the Year by the Jewish Sports Heritage Foundation.

Head Men’s Swimming Coach Marc Benvenuti says coaching Finkel was “a lot of fun.”

“He has an enormous amount of talent, so we got to do some really challenging things as part of his training. When he would race, especially at NESCACs or NCAAs, you could see the training shine through.” 

Reflecting on his career, Finkel says winning his first national championship, in the 500 free in 2024, was “the most thrilling and fulfilling moment” of his athletic career. “It was all very new and overwhelming to me, but after the dust settled, it felt great to zoom out and realize how far swimming has brought me,” he says. 

Finkel credits his parents and his teammates for keeping him motivated. “My parents played such a pivotal role in my success. They always showed me how much they believed in me,” he says. “Here at Conn, what drove my motivation was all of my teammates. Together, we endured intense training, early mornings, late nights, long meet weekends and many more hardships that only someone in our position can fully appreciate.”

Finkel adds that it was an honor to serve as a team captain during his senior season. “Our team finished in fourth place at the NESCAC Championships this year, outscoring Bates in the final relay of the meet. The pride I felt as the team celebrated was amazing.”  

After graduation, Finkel plans to work as a medical assistant before pursuing a medical degree. He’s also signed up to do a half Ironman with some of his Conn teammates this summer, and he plans to teach swim lessons. “I am not completely done with swimming yet,” he says.