Daniel Whiffen has just won Ireland’s first world swimming gold medal. The 22-year-old athlete, who finished fourth in the 800m freestyle final at last year’s World Aquatics Championships, won gold in the same event in Doha this year.
He may swim for gold at this summer’s Paris Olympics. A Co Armagh man said he was “really happy” after swimming to victory.
He said: “It’s fantastic, obviously the goal going into this event was to win a world medal and get Ireland on top of the podium.
“And obviously this is Ireland’s first medal at world championship level. It’s really great to say and I’m really happy.”
Wiffen won three gold medals at the European Short Course Championships last December and finished seventh in this week’s 400m freestyle final. The champion is ready to take on the 1,500m freestyle race.
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He said: “I mean, I’m really looking forward to it. I hope I don’t get too emotional on the podium.”
“I’m just excited. I can’t wait to get on this podium and win a medal.”
Wiffen, who attends Loughborough University, was the second fastest in qualifying and was feeling pretty confident heading into the final.
Italian swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri took an early lead, but Wiffen caught up with him, finishing in a time of 7 minutes 40.94 seconds. He beat Elijah Winnington and Paltrinieri by more than two seconds.
“It was really about building confidence in myself and making sure I could trust it and execute my race plan. That’s what I did and I’m very happy,” Wiffen said.
Shane Ryan, Ellen Walsh and Mona McSharry have all won medals at the World Short Course Championships in the past.
Wiffen was also thrilled that his parents, Rachel and Jonathan, were there to watch him make history.
He said: “Of course I wanted them to be here and they missed out on my world record at Otopeni, so it’s even better than they could have seen me win gold at the World Championships.” It’s great for them to come and watch.”
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