Since Daniel Wiffen<\/strong> became Olympic champion in Paris, he\u2019s honed his surfing skills in Bali, walked the red carpet at the Gladiator 2 film premiere and been honoured with armfuls of awards.<\/p>\n

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Daniel Wiffen: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala, Deepbluemedia<\/p><\/div>\n
His programme wasn\u2019t over as Wiffen took to the waters of the River Seine<\/a>, finishing 18^{th<\/sup> in his \u201cfirst and last\u201d 10k race, although he’s left the door open to dipping his toe once more despite being hospitalised with e-coli after the race which caused him to miss being Irish flagbearer at the Closing Ceremony.<\/p>\n}
There was a whirlwind of interviews from media outlets the world over before he returned home to Ireland.<\/p>\n
Everyday life is \u201cvery different\u201d now for the 23-year-old and while accustomed to the increased scrutiny from press and public alike, Wiffen finds it \u201cvery weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told Swimming World: \u201cIn Ireland it\u2019s massive, I feel like I can\u2019t really walk down the street anymore. In Loughborough (where he trains) it\u2019s pretty big too. I can\u2019t really go outside of my house without people asking me for a photo. People come to the swimming pool to watch us train, stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI got famous \u2013 the walkouts, celebrations and videos \u2013 all round the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in Bali, I\u2019d get people coming up to me at least three times a day asking for photos and talking about the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riding The Wave<\/h3>\n
Following his return home, Wiffen enjoyed a five-day golfing trip with Belgian Olympian Lucas Henveaux before heading to Barcelona with friends from Loughborough.<\/p>\n
Then he went to Bali and Lombok for a month where he took up surfing, something that came naturally for Wiffen and friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about balance: we\u2019re really good at swimming so paddling is really easy for us. We could out-paddle a lot of the pro surfers to the waves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a teacher and he was telling us to catch the waves. I\u2019d say we got to a semi-professional level. I talked to Irish Olympic surfers and they were saying what we did in four weeks it takes people two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s being comfortable swimming, we\u2019re quite strong: it\u2019s all about paddling in surfing.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously balance \u2013 core stability is key in swimming so\u2026.it wasn\u2019t that hard; you have just got to learn the technique.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Does the surf dude lifestyle appeal? \u201cWake up, surf in the morning, go back, sleep, wake up again, surf \u2013 it\u2019s basically the same as a swimmer\u2019s schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A post shared by Daniel Wiffen (@daniel.wiffen)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n