An incredible performance.
Daniel Wiffen won gold for Ireland in the 800m freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday evening, setting a new Olympic record with a time of 7:38.19.
TeE triumph marks Ireland’s second medal of the Games and the second in swimming, following Mona McSharry’s bronze in the 100m breaststroke on Monday. Wiffen has won Ireland’s first gold medal of the Games and 12th gold medal in 100 years of competing as an independent nation.
Wiffen, the fastest qualifier, was competing from lane four and took the lead at the halfway mark.
The race turned thrilling from 600m onwards, with a fierce contest between Wiffen, Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri, and American Bobby Finke, the 2021 Olympic champion in this discipline.
Wiffen was trailing Paltrinieri going into the final 100m, but dug deep and raced home, recording an Olympic record in the process.
In the end, Finke claimed silver, finishing 0.56 seconds behind Wiffen, while Paltrinieri took bronze, 1.19 seconds off the pace.
Wiffen, the 23-year-old Armagh native, had already made headlines earlier this year by winning both the 800m and 1500m golds at the World Championships in Doha, becoming Ireland’s first-ever swimming world champion with his 800m victory.
With his 800m win in Paris, Wiffen continues to build on his stellar year. He still has the 1500m and marathon swim events to compete in at these Olympic Games, promising more excitement for Irish fans.
