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Daniel Wiffen

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Daniel Wiffen
Personal information
Born (2001-07-14) 14 July 2001 (age 23)
Leeds, England
Home townMagheralin, County Down[a]
Sport
CountryIreland
Northern Ireland
SportSwimming
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Ireland
Summer Olympics
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris 800 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris 1500 m freestyle
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Doha 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2024 Doha 1500 m freestyle
European U-23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Dublin 1500 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2023 Dublin 800 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2023 Dublin 400 m freestyle
European Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2023 Otopeni 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2023 Otopeni 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2023 Otopeni 1500 m freestyle
Representing  Northern Ireland
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham 1500 m freestyle

Daniel Wiffen (born 14 July 2001) is an Irish competitive swimmer. He is an Olympic champion and bronze medalist, two-time world champion and three-time European short course champion.

Wiffen won the gold medal in the men's 800 metre freestyle and the bronze medal in the men's 1500 metre freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting an Olympic record in the former event with the time of 7:38.19.[1][2] He won the 800 metre freestyle and 1500 metre freestyle events at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, becoming the first male Irish swimmer in history to win a medal at the World Championships.[3][4]

Wiffen won gold medals in the 400, 800 and 1500 metre freestyle events at the 2023 European Championships (25m) in Otopeni, and the inaugural European Under-23 1500 metre freestyle title at the 2023 European U-23 Championships in Dublin. He competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland, where he won the silver medal in the men's 1500 metre freestyle event.

Wiffen holds the 800 metres freestyle short-course world record with a time of 7:20.46.[5]

Career

Wiffen competed in the men's 800 metres freestyle and 1500 metres freestyle events at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[6][7] He won his first senior international medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he placed second in the men's 1500 metre freestyle event and competed for Northern Ireland.[8] In December 2022, Wiffen broke the European record for the 800 metres freestyle short course, becoming the first Irishman to hold a European record in swimming.[9] He competed for Ireland at the 2023 European U-23 Championships in Dublin, where he became the inaugural European Under-23 champion in the 1500 metre freestyle event and won silver medals in the 400 and 800 metre freestyle events.

Wiffen won gold medals in the 400, 800 and 1500 metre freestyle events at the 2023 European Championships (25m) in Otopeni, where he also set a new world record in the 800 metre freestyle short course with a time of 7:20.46 and became the first Irish swimmer to win a European short-course gold medal.[10] At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, he broke the European record for the 800 metres long course with the time of 7:39.19. Wiffen won gold medals in the 800 metre freestyle and 1500 metre freestyle events at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, becoming the first male Irish swimmer in history to win a medal at the World Championships.[3][4]

World Championships Results
Year 400m 800m 1500m
2022 — 8th 9th
2023 4th 4th
2024 7th 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Wiffen qualified for the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but decided not to compete in the 400m and instead swim in the 10km open water swimming. He qualified in first place for the 800m freestyle final and on 30 July, he won the gold medal with a new Olympic record time of 7:38.19.[11] The medal was Ireland's twelfth Olympic gold and first in swimming since the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was the second Irish swimming medalist at the 2024 games and the first individual Olympic Gold medal winner from Northern Ireland since 1972.[12][13][14] On 4 August, Wiffen won the bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle final, with a time of 14:39.63.[15][16] He placed 18th in the men's marathon 10 kilometre event and became the first Irish Olympian to compete in the discipline.[17][18]

Olympic Results
Year 800m 1500m OW 10 k
2024 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 18th

Personal life

Wiffen was born in Leeds, England, and moved to Magheralin at the age of two. He has three siblings, twin brother Nathan, sister Elizabeth and brother Ben.[19][20] The family home is close to the border of County Down and lies in County Armagh.[21] Wiffen's brother Nathan is also a swimmer who finished fourth in the 1500 metre freestyle event at the 2024 European Championships[22] and narrowly missed out on the qualifying time for the event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[23]

Wiffen and his twin brother have a YouTube Channel.[24] They both had minor roles in The Frankenstein Chronicles episode "Seeing Things" and the Game of Thrones episode "The Rains of Castamere";[25] in the latter, their sister Elizabeth also appeared as Neyela Frey.[26][27]

Wiffen attends Loughborough University.[28]

Records

Record Event Time Meet Date Club
WR, NR 800m Freestyle (SC) 7.20.46 2023 European SC Championships 10 December 2023 Ireland
OR, ER, NR 800m Freestyle 7:38.19 2024 Summer Olympics 30 July 2024
NR 400m Freestyle 3:44.35 2023 Swim Open Stockholm 13 April 2023 Loughborough University
NR 1500m Freestyle 14:34.07 2024 World Championships 18 February 2024 Ireland
NR 400m Freestyle (SC) 3:35.47 2023 European SC Championships 5 December 2023 Ireland
NR 1500m Freestyle (SC) 14:09.11 2023 European SC Championships 7 December 2023

Notes

  1. ^ Magheralin is mainly in County Down but Wiffen's family home is in the County Armagh part of the village.

References

  1. ^ Diallo, Raf. "Paris 2024: Daniel Wiffen surges to gold in 800m final". RTE. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Daniel Wiffen: Magheralin welcomes Paris gold medal hero home". BBC. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Daniel Wiffen makes history with gold medal at World Championships in Doha". RTÉ Sport. 15 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b "World champion Daniel Wiffen savouring 'surreal' achievement". RTÉ Sport. 15 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024.
  5. ^ Ryan, Eoin (4 July 2024). "Daniel Wiffen smashes 800m freestyle world record to win third European Short Course Championships gold". RTÉ Sport. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Men's 800m Freestyle: Results Summary" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Men's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 30 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Daniel Wiffen". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  9. ^ Kenny, John (15 December 2022). "Wiffen sets European record in 800m freestyle". RTÉ Sport.
  10. ^ "Wiffen sets 800m freestyle short course record". ESPN. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Paris 2024: Daniel Wiffen surges to gold in 800m final". BBC Sport. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  12. ^ Gray, Andy (29 July 2024). "Wiffen 'had eyes on Olympic record' in 800m heats". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  13. ^ Campbell, Brett (30 July 2024). "Co Down swimmer becomes first individual NI athlete to win Olympic gold in 52 years". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  14. ^ O’Brien, Brendan (29 July 2024). "Mona McSharry wins bronze for Ireland at the Olympic Games". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  15. ^ McKendry, Adam (4 August 2024). "Magheralin's Daniel Wiffen claims second Olympic medal after sealing bronze in 1500m freestyle". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Paris 2024: Daniel Wiffen third as Bobby Finke breaks world 1500m freestyle record". RTE Sport. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  17. ^ Gray, Andy (9 August 2024). "Daniel Wiffen: Olympic champion proud after 'first and last' open water marathon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  18. ^ Gough, Ellen (8 August 2024). "Daniel Wiffen to make history in 'gruelling' open water marathon swim". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Olympics Swimmer Daniel Wiffen's Sister Elizabeth Played Neyela Frey In The Game of Thrones". Amy Movie. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  20. ^ Raf Diallo, 'Paris 2024: Daniel Wiffen ice cold as Olympic zenith carried on commentary wave (video 2)'. RTÉ Sport, 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024
  21. ^ 'Armagh or Down? Which county can claim Daniel Wiffen?'. BBC News, 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024
  22. ^ "Men's 1500m Freestyle Final". European Aquatics. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  23. ^ Nathan Wiffen misses out on place at Olympic Games, Nigel Ringland, BBC Sport, 26 May 2024
  24. ^ "Wiffen Twins". YouTube. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Daniel Wiffen: From Game of Thrones extra to centre stage for Ireland swimming". Olympics.com. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  26. ^ Rossi, Pilar (6 August 2024). "Olympic swimming medalist Daniel Wiffen was in famous 'Game of Thrones' scene". Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  27. ^ "Olympics Swimmer Daniel Wiffen's Sister Elizabeth Played Neyela Frey In The Game of Thrones". Amy Movie. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  28. ^ Gray, Andy (25 July 2024). "Paris 2024: 'I'm not coming away from Paris without a medal'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024. Wiffen, a student at Loughborough University.
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