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Daniel Wiffen has won a stunning Olympic gold medal in the men’s 800m freestyle final, in a new Olympic, European and Irish record time of 7:38.19.

Twenty-three-year old Wiffen becomes Team Ireland’s second medallist at these Olympic Games, after team mate Mona McSharry claimed bronze in the pool last night. Wiffen becomes the first ever Irish man in history to win an Olympic swimming medal.

The Armagh man stormed to Gold in a new Olympic record (OR) on the night, knocking over three seconds off the previous mark of 7:41.28 set by Mykhalo Romanchuk of Ukraine in Tokyo 2020. The time was also inside his own European and Irish Record of 7:39.19 from World Championships in Japan in 2023.

In a nail-biting race Wiffen beat Tokyo 2020 gold medallist American Bobby Finke into second place, who touched in a time of 7:38.75, with Italian Gregorio Paltrinieri, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist in the 800m and Rio 2016 1500m Champion, claiming bronze in 7:39.38. The trio exchanged the lead throughout, with the Italian making his move at the 650m mark but there was no panic from Wiffen who kept to his own plan. On hitting the wall for the final turn at the 50m mark Wiffen kicked for home, passing Paltrinieri and holding off a sprint finish from reigning champion Bobby Finke outside of him to touch the wall first cementing his place in the history books.

Wiffen has had the most remarkable year having become the first Irish swimmer to ever medal at a World Long Course Championships in February, before becoming double world champion in the 800m & 1500m freestyle, and his 14:34.07 in the latter was the fifth fastest in history.

Speaking poolside afterwards a jubilant Wiffen said, “I don’t think a lot of people actually believed me that I was going to do it tonight but yeah it was incredible. I’ve done it – that’s all I want to say!

“I was so nervous, that’s the most nervous I’ve ever been for a race but do you know what calmed me down – I heard my brother shout for me as soon as I walked out. I heard none of the crowd – just him, and that’s what calmed me down, and really levelled my head.

“It feels incredible. Andrew Bree said it just as I want to say it –‘lights, camera, action’ – that’s exactly what I did – I’m writing myself into the history books!”

After an emotional medal ceremony when Amhrán na bhFiann played out around a packed LaDefense Arena a proud Wiffen said, “I don’t normally cry. So I really hope nobody could see that but yeah, it did come out of me, obviously, it was just a special moment. I’ve never heard that national anthem at the Olympics before and, um, yeah, it’s just crazy to say that it was me standing up on that podium hearing it for the first time at an Olympics.”

Reflecting on the race itself Wiffen said, “I’ve been training every different scenario for what’s going to happen. To be fair I only train one way and that’s to try and hold on and burn everyone out but I knew Olympics was going to be completely different. Really my first 200m was absolutely terrible. My stroke was all over the place but luckily, I had a good enough easy speed to keep it going and was still in the race, and then my goal was to keep building, keep building, keep building, and we got to the 150m and in my head it went so fast.

“Then I was literally just looking at Bobby Finke; that’s all I was doing. This guy comes back the fastest, I was like I had to have at least a body length on him. I was doing this weird low key stroke to try to have a look, and went on the turn; the last wall turn, I put my head down and sprinted the last 20m. I was dying last 20 meters- not sure if you saw that but my arms were in so much pain – but I knew that the crowd was gonna carry me in and that’s exactly what happened and I saw the red light on the block and that was it!”

 Asked about his next event, the 1500m final Wiffen said, “Yeah, 1500m on Saturday, my hope is to be back on the podium again and my goal now is to just get the recovery in. I will enjoy myself tonight. I will try treat myself to maybe whatever they have in the village, I don’t know what they have in the village to be fair but yeah, just get through the 1500 heats and see what happens.

 “People should just watch my YouTube channel. I blog/vlog every week, show you exactly what an Olympic champion does, day in, day out in the pool and I don’t know what else to say – subscribe!” laughed Ireland’s ninth ever Olympic gold medallist.

On Wednesday, Olympic Bronze medallist Mona McSharry returns to the pool for the 200m Breaststroke Heats. McSharry became Ireland’s first medallist of the Paris Games on Monday in the 100m Breaststroke. The Sligo woman holds the Irish record in the event at 2:22.49 which she set just last month. Read about her medal winning race HERE