It took one massively heroic effort and 16 lengths chasing glory and then Daniel Wiffen was the Olympic champion, producing an utterly astonishing display of 800 metres freestyle swimming to carve his name into Irish sporting history.
On another wild and rollicking night of swimming inside the Paris La Défense Arena, the 23-year-old from Armagh continued his uncanny and confident ability to repeatedly go where no Irish male swimmer had ever gone before – this time on to the top of the Olympic medal podium.
No doubt about it either.
Few of us can ever begin to imagine being stuck in this moment. Olympic champion, Olympic gold medal winner, Wiffen now blissfully immortalised in his own event and given that rare and lasting place in the reels of Irish sporting history too.
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“I’m not going to lie, I did tell everybody I was going to do it before, so just good to see it on paper, it feels amazing,” he said. “I never heard that national anthem at an Olympics before, and it’s just crazy to say it was me standing on the number one podium here at the Olympics.
“Yeah, I don’t normally cry, so I was really hoping nobody was going to see that. But it did come out of me, and it’s obviously just a special moment.
“I tell you what, and the only voice I heard in the crowd was my twin brother Nathan’s. That’s what actually kept me level-headed when I walked out and yeah, I mean it was just written in the stars.”
[ Olympics 2024: A golden night for Daniel Wiffen leaves many in tearsOpens in new window ]
In the now century of our Olympic participation, only nine Irish people, six men and three women, had ever experienced becoming an Olympic champion, Olympic gold medal winner, since the country was first allowed to compete for itself as the Free State in time for the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
Wiffen now becomes number 10. Refusing to settle for anything other than gold, Wiffen touched home in 7:38.19, smashing the Olympic record of 7:41.28 set by Mykhailo Romanchuk when qualifying for the final in Tokyo, and taking a second off his own previous Irish and European record too.
Some Olympic swimming events are decided on a fingertip, and this one was not far off, as Wiffen boldly chased down a .78 of second deficit on Gregorio Paltrinieri from Italy inside the last 100m, the 2016 Olympic champion in the 1,500m, who won silver in the 800m in Tokyo.
Later after Amhrán na bhFiann was played out under his own tears of joy, he admitted that nerves were at one point in danger of getting the better of him
Wiffen’s immediate reaction said a lot too, as he raised both arms in triumph as if to say perhaps more people will believe in him now. Defending champion Bobby Finke from the USA was also closing fast, nailing second in 7:38.75, with Paltrinieri holding on for third in 7:39.38.
Wiffen left behind nothing of his effort, briefly moving in front just after halfway, before Paltrinieri powered his way to the fore from just after the 200m to go mark.
Elijah Winnington from Australia was the early leader at the 100m mark, Wiffen just over a metre down in third, as that leading trio set off at just inside world record pace.
“So I had been training every different scenario that is going to happen. Normally I would only train one way and that’s to try hold on, burn everybody out in the middle, but I knew that the Olympics is completely different and you don’t know how you are going to feel in the first hundred.
“So my first 300 metres was absolutely terrible, my stroke was all over the place. I was just so nervous that I couldn’t get any stroke in but luckily I had a good enough easy speed to keep it going and I was still in the race. Then my goal was to keep building, building and building ...”
Those fortunate enough to even stand on the Olympic medal podium will also tell you it’s a place that must be truly believed in for it ever to be seen, and rarely had any Irish athlete believed he’d soon be standing there more than Wiffen. His four years at Loughborough University in England has also tempered that belief.
Wiffen’s walkout into the arena was again as cool as he likes it, mimicking the carving of his own name into history. Ever since the first session on Saturday, the Paris La Défense Arena has been transforming itself into one of the loudest swimming dance halls in Olympic history, and Tuesday night’s 19,000-sell-out was no exception.
His parents Jonathan and Rachel Wiffen watching from the stands, along with twin brother Nathan.
“To be honest, this is going to sound really weird to say but I’ve dreamed of this moment so many times in my head, I’ve gone over it so many different ways about how it was going to happen.
“To be fair, in my eyes, I didn’t really think I was going to do it in the 800m because it’s not my favourite event. My favourite event is the longer distance stuff. The 800m is obviously quite a new event in the Olympics but obviously I’m an 800m Olympic champion, it definitely feels great and exceeded my expectations.”
