His is a long list of firsts.<\/p>\n
No Irish swimmer had won a World Championship medal in the long-course pool before Wiffen claimed the 800\/1500 double<\/a> in Doha in February.<\/p>\n The first Irish swimmer to set a world record<\/a> with 7:20.46 in the 800 free at last year\u2019s European Short-Course Championships, taking almost 3secs off Grant Hackett\u2019<\/strong>s July 2008 mark, then the longest-standing WR in the pool.<\/p>\n There he also became the first Irish swimmer to win a medal in the continental short-course pool when he won the 400-800-1500 treble.<\/p>\n The first Irish swimmer to set a European record<\/a> with 800 standards in both the long and short-course pools.<\/p>\n The list goes on, going back to July 2022 when he became the first able-bodied swimmer from Northern Ireland to win a Commonwealth swimming medal with silver in the 1500.<\/p>\n Daniel Wiffen: Photo Courtesy: G.Scala\/Deepbluemedia\/Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n It has garnered him medals, records and awards, the latest from the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) who named him Sportsman of the Year.<\/p>\n Now he stands on the brink of yet more history and this time on the biggest stage of all with the pool and open water beckoning in Paris.<\/p>\n Should he reach the podium in the French capital, Wiffen would become the first Irishman to win an Olympic swimming medal.<\/p>\n It would make him only the second Irish swimmer to do so, the other being Michelle Smith<\/strong> who won three medals at Atlanta 1996 but was later banned for tampering with a doping sample.<\/p>\n Paris will be Wiffen\u2019s second Olympics, three years after he made his debut in Tokyo.<\/p>\n There he finished 14th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> in the 800 and1500 respectively as Bobby Finke<\/strong> claimed the distance double.<\/p>\n Since then, Wiffen has elevated himself onto the top table and stands fifth all-time in the 1500 with 14:34.07 en-route to gold in Doha and ninth in the shorter distance with his European record of 7:39.19 when coming fourth at the Fukuoka worlds in 2023.<\/p>\n With confidence borne of experience, Wiffen told Swimming World:<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019m a lot less nervous than I was three years ago. I think because the Olympics was my first-ever senior international and my goal at the Olympics is to just perform on the big stage.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething like 30% of athletes\u2019 personal bests \u2013 or maybe even less \u2013 are done at Olympic Games.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I do personal bests at the Olympic Games, I\u2019m sure that puts me in with a great – I\u2019d say 99% – chance of winning a medal. So, that\u2019s just the goal.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t feel anywhere near as much pressure as I did three years ago. I\u2019m just happy to be training so fast and doing so well.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Wiffen heads to Paris atop the rankings in both the 800 and 1500 free with his winning times in Doha of 7:40.94 and 14:34.07 respectively.<\/p>\n Six months earlier, he\u2019d left the Fukuoka worlds following two fourth places.<\/p>\n While his time in the 800 was a European record, Wiffen was 8.1secs outside his then PB of 14:34.91 in the longer race, finishing in 14:43.01.<\/p>\n Ahead of him were Ahmed Hafnaoui<\/strong> and Finke \u2013 who fought out an exhilarating duel as the Tunisian clinched gold in the second-fastest time in history \u2013 while Australian Sam Short<\/strong> took bronze, 5.73secs ahead of Wiffen, after going out at a blistering pace.<\/p>\n While he never questioned that he was going to appear on the global podium, Doha offered another opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I had no doubts (after Fukuoka),\u201d he said. \u201cI knew I was going to medal at some stage.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Fukuoka I had a lot of nerves, it was my first time being in the spotlight for a World Championships and the first time I was a contender for medals.<\/p>\n \u201cI screwed up my race plans and stuff like that and I was more worried about whether I was able to follow my race plan under the pressure which I was then able to do and I\u2019m pretty sure I did it pretty perfectly.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Daniel Wiffen: Photo courtesy: G.Perottino\/Deepbluemedia\/Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n The manner of his victories in Doha differed: he won the 800 with a late charge while dominating the longer race.<\/p>\n He added:<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely gave me confidence because I won a medal at a World Championships. That was one takeaway.<\/p>\n \u201cI know Sam Short and Bobby Finke weren\u2019t there but it showed me I can win those races.<\/p>\n \u201cEuropeans I came away with three golds but that was short course and Fukuoka I came fourth twice so it was can I get on the podium at an international before the Olympics?<\/p>\n \u201cThe 800 was a great test because I think the goal was not about the time it was about getting your hand on the wall first.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1500 tried to go for a PB and got one.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It also gave Wiffen a chance to practice his walkouts on to poolside with new ones to be unveiled at Le Defense Arena, fun but also a distraction from the race and the nerves.<\/p>\n “In Otopeni I shot the camera and I was on the phone for the 800 in Doha and for the 1500 I checked the watch because\u00a0 I was going for a time, I was going for a PB.<\/p>\n “Why do it? 100% it distracts me. I think that is one of the main things.<\/p>\n “People have their own interpretation. I use it as\u2026.. I don\u2019t work with a sports psychologist or anything because I think they\u2019re a waste of time personally.<\/p>\n “If I am thinking more about \u00a0getting that right then the next step is a clear mind for the race, I don\u2019t think about anything.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Wiffen trains \u2013 along with brother Nathan<\/strong> – under the watchful eye of Andi Manley<\/strong> at Loughborough Performance Centre.<\/p>\n Theirs is a relationship of trust and personal responsibility and it is to Manley that the Irishman turns.<\/p>\n Even more so since he dispensed with the services of a sports psychologist in the wake of Fukuoka.<\/p>\n Daniel Wiffen: Photo Courtesy: G.Perottino\/Deepbluemedia\/Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n Wiffen explained:<\/p>\n \u201cI think after that I wanted to change everything and I changed everything apart from my coach obviously.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, then I started working with so many different people that I was like I think it\u2019s a waste of time.<\/p>\n \u201cI changed my sports psychologist: I was working with one but it just didn\u2019t work for me.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I went to a new one and then she told me I didn\u2019t need a sports psychologist.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t like sports psychology in the first place because the old one would make me go through the scenario of me losing a race.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, I\u2019m not going to lose so I am not going to go through the scenarios.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t need to because I think if you think about it then it\u2019s more likely going to happen.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean it\u2019s working right now; I haven\u2019t seen any sports psychologist since before Fukuoka and I\u2019ve been doing better than ever.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The men\u2019s distance races in Paris promise to blow smoke off the water.<\/p>\n While Hafnaoui will not be there, Finke, Short, Gregorio Paltrinieri,<\/strong> Florian Wellbrock<\/strong> and Mykhailo Romanchuk<\/strong> will all take to the blocks at La Defense Arena.<\/p>\n So too will Kuzey Tuncelli<\/strong>, the 16-year-old who crushed the 1500 WJR in 14:41.89 earlier this month and who at times shares the water with Wiffen at the Gloria training base in T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n Then on to the 10k in the River Seine where Wiffen will make his open water debut courtesy of qualifying in the 1500.<\/p>\n Despite the rising anticipation as the Games move ever closer, Wiffen is focused solely on what he can control.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how the others are going to swim at the Olympics, they could swim 20 seconds under world record, my best on that day might be 10 seconds under world record.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why I\u2019ve started to focus on me just going to do my best in the race and hopefully that\u2019s good enough.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve definitely been working on different areas of my race where I know I need to improve so maybe we\u2019ll see a whole different swimmer in the Olympics but nobody will know until the day.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Daniel Wiffen: photo courtesy: G.Perottino\/Deepbluemedia\/Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n And the best thing about Olympic year?<\/p>\n \u201cI treat it as any other year. I don\u2019t like it when people go \u2018oh yeah I try harder in Olympic year.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI try hard every year. I don\u2019t know what other people are doing but I\u2019m not putting more effort in in Olympic year than I would any other season.<\/p>\n \u201cOlympic year is obviously special, the pinnacle of swimming and most sports and to be fair, my favourite part about the Olympics is the free stuff. That\u2019ll be what I\u2019ll be doing before I swim.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019ve got a week in the Village before I race so I have got a couple of days when I\u2019m move in when I\u2019ll be trying to find the free stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get shoes, you get a toothbrush, you get a phone, you get earphones, Airbnb voucher \u2013 I don\u2019t know what’s going to be special about Paris free stuff, we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n \u201cTokyo you got Asics trainers, I\u2019ve never worn them, they\u2019re still in the box but I have them.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, and you got a duvet as well: I took that.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read more about Daniel Wiffen:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Daniel Wiffen: Paris Goals, Dispensing With Sports Psychologists & The Best Thing About Olympic Year \u2018Daniel Wiffen makes Irish history\u2019 has become a recurring line and one that may be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7575,"featured_media":574827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122074],"tags":[70616,128902,121258,72820,120079,68659,2468,32022,132760,64581,57812,125410,3639,7419],"class_list":["post-590999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-europe","tag-2024-olympic-games-coverage-paris","tag-ahmed-hafnaoui","tag-andi-manley","tag-bobby-finke","tag-daniel-wiffen","tag-florian-wellbrock","tag-grant-hackett","tag-gregorio-paltrinieri","tag-kuzey-tuncelli","tag-mykhailo-romanchuk","tag-paris-2024","tag-sam-short","tag-swim-ireland","tag-tokyo-olympics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/20240218_GPer_Z8G4337-700x500.jpg\")
Doha Golds and Pre-Race Walkouts<\/h3>\n
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The Wiffen-Manley Partnership<\/h3>\n
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Focusing On What He Can Control<\/h3>\n
The Best Thing About Olympic Year<\/h3>\n
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