{"id":593215,"date":"2024-07-30T12:30:05","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T19:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=593215"},"modified":"2024-07-31T01:32:57","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T08:32:57","slug":"paris-olympics-night-4-daniel-wiffen-makes-more-history-for-ireland-with-800-free-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/paris-olympics-night-4-daniel-wiffen-makes-more-history-for-ireland-with-800-free-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Olympics, Day 4 Finals: Daniel Wiffen Makes More History for Ireland with 800 Free Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paris Olympics, Night 4: Daniel Wiffen Makes More History for Ireland with 800 Free Gold<\/strong><\/p>\n

As of Monday afternoon, only one Irish swimmer had ever won an Olympic medal, and under controversial circumstances<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two nights later, that club of Irish Olympic medalists has tripled, with a golden tint \u2014 the boy born on Bastille Day, in Paris, swimming up a storm as a storm passed by Paris La Defense Arena Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Daniel Wiffen<\/strong> won gold in the men\u2019s 800 freestyle Tuesday night at the Paris Olympics, holding off the trademark charge of American reigning champion Bobby Finke<\/strong> to get the win in 7:38.19. It\u2019s the Olympic record by more than three seconds and it\u2019s the sixth fastest performance of all time.<\/p>\n

Wiffen joins Mona McSharry’s bronze medal in the women\u2019s 100 breaststroke on Monday<\/a>\u00a0as the only medal for Ireland since Michelle Smith in 1996.<\/p>\n

Wiffen felt the moment was his as soon as he came out on deck. He said the only voice he could hear among the throngs was his twin brother, Nathan Wiffen. It guided him to a block and a race with destiny.<\/p>\n

“The only voice I heard in the crowd was my twin brother Nathan,” Daniel said. “I’ve been asked what actually kept me level-headed when I walked out. And yeah, I mean, it was just written in the stars, wasn\u2019t it?”<\/p>\n