Wiffen predicts he can break three world records at Irish Open
READY TO ROLL: Daniel Wiffen of Team Ireland after winning bronze in the men's 1500m freestyle final at the Paris La Défense Arena during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Daniel Wiffen has predicted that he could come close to breaking world records in all three of his events at next week’s Irish Open in Dublin.
The 23-year old won Olympic gold in the 800m freestyle at the Paris Games last summer and followed that up with a bronze in the 1500m. He is already world short course record holder in the 800m freestyle since December of 2023.
Wiffen gave notice of his intentions to break a world record in front of a home crowd when appearing on The Late Late Show earlier this year. He will swim in the 400m free as well as the two longer distances at the National Aquatic Centre in Abbotstown.
“Yeah, it's still looking good,” he said on Wednesday. “I've actually been training really well since I came back after my break. It took me a while to get back into it but I didn't seem to lose much fitness so I'm still aiming for that goal.
“I can't tell you which event it is going to be in because I think it could be quite close in all three I'm doing but we'll see.” Wiffen swam the 10k Open Water event in Paris after winning his two medals but he has decided to ditch that in favour of the 400m in the next Olympics, in Los Angeles, in 2028 where more medals are very much on the agenda.
He has never been shy about declaring his grand ambitions publicly. This latest declaration is not to motivate himself but more a means of drumming up interest in Irish swimming and the championships that will take place between April 12-16.
That would equate to added pressure for some. Not for Wiffen.
“No, not really. If I say I'll go and get it and I miss it by 0.2 [seconds], I'll just get it the next time. I'm 23 years old. I've got at least another two Olympics to go and I'm sure I'm not going to break just one world record in my lifetime, I'm going to try for multiple.”
