LAST UPDATE | 29 Jul 2023

DANIEL WIFFEN WILL compete in the final of the 1500m freestyle final tomorrow after he finished second in his heat with a time of 14:43.50.

On the penultimate day of racing at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan, Wiffen, who set a new European record with a fourth-place finish in the final of the 800m in midweek, was only edged out of first spot in his heat by American Bobby Finke.

“I think I’m still going with my aspirations of hitting that World Record (14:31.01), need to get out now, get some recovery done for tomorrow night, 36 hours, get that done and have a good final,” Wiffen explained.

“It hurt a little, but I’m holding back still, so still that bit left.

“It was great, my strategy was to go in and break up the field and I did that quite well and then after about 500m sit back on a good pace that would get me through to the final so I did that, it was good, a good race as well there with the American Bobby Finke, but it was alright, it was fun.”

Also in action this morning was Danielle Hill, who was unable to progress in the 50m Freestyle but will return tomorrow to be part of the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay.

Mona McSharry and Conor Ferguson bowed out of the 50m Breaststroke and 50m Backstroke respectively at the semi-final stages.

McSharry, who finished fifth in the 100m Breaststroke Final earlier in the week after achieving a Paris 2024 qualification in the heats, touched in 30.54 for sixth in her heat and eleventh overall.

Reflecting on her week of individual events McSharry said: ”A little disappointed with that swim, obviously coming out that’s all that’s on my mind now, but yeah I do have to go back and look at the whole meet and really just take a step back, this is really something I’ve never done before, I’ve never gotten into three semi-finals at a world level, so that’s something to be really proud of and you know I did the job, I’ve qualified for the Olympics and now I can train for the year and be faster and stronger next year.”

Ferguson had a solid swim in the 50m Backstroke semi-final, his first semi-final at a World Championships. The 23-year-old was sixth in his heat in 25.09, finishing thirteenth overall.

“It’s kind of a bittersweet feeling because I wasn’t faster than this morning, I was close to my PB (personal best) but yeah, I’m just taking it all in, experiencing my first semi-final at a world level and at this stage, this year, coming up to the Olympic cycle, I can only take positives from it,” Ferguson said.

McSharry returns to the pool tomorrow morning in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay, where she will be joined by Hill, Ellen Walshe and Victoria Catterson, while Ferguson will go in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay with Darragh Greene, Max McCusker and Shane Ryan.

Both relays will be hoping to secure at least top sixteen times; the top three teams in these relay finals will confirm places for Paris, with the remaining thirteen teams coming from the top times in Fukuoka and the Doha World Aquatics Championships in February 2024. 

Updated at 2.15pm with Mona McSharry and Conor Ferguson semi-final results.