HE’S DOWN FOR THE 800 metres and the 1,500 metres events. But if the mood takes him and he’s feeling good, Daniel Wiffen is probably going to leap into the Seine and do his first ever marathon swim (10k) at the Paris Olympics.
First-ever? Yes.
And how does that work?
“The reason I want to do it is, I have never done it before, why not have a go? I train the same as an open water swimmer, maybe a bit faster. But we will see what happens and I wouldn’t be surprised if I was in with a shout for the podium in it either,” says the 23-year-old from Magheralin, Co Armagh.
Sounds pretty confident, huh?
But after all, this is the man who set the world record for the 800 metres last December. Grant Hackett’s record had stood for 15 years but Wiffen ate three seconds to come in at 7:20.46 seconds.
“If I come out of the pool . . . The best scenario would be two golds at least. And then I will decide if I do the 10k or not,” he says.
Why so?
“You get to swim in front of the Eiffel Tower. It will be my first ever open water race, my first marathon swim, I have never done one before.”
Wait, WHAT?
“No, never done a marathon swim before.”
Woah! You know it can cut up in there?
“The part I am not looking forward to is it is quite rough. My best friend swam in the Tokyo marathon swim and he nearly got his eye taken out. He got a DNF (Did Not Finish) because his whole eye was bleeding after an elbow to the face.
“That’s the worst part of open water swimming.”
Sounds, like… fun?
“Yeah, I do it for fun. To be fair, I wouldn’t swim if it wasn’t fun, or if I didn’t enjoy it. I only do stuff if I enjoy it and I will enjoy a 10k in the Seine.”
It’s a pattern that is noticeable with this generation of Irish Olympians. They are the most self-assured and confident bunch that Ireland has sent. Not for them, apologising for their very existence and all the ‘ah shucks’ and a hog under the oxter, playing up to stereotype act.
Winning the World Championships in Doha in February helps, of course.
🇮🇪 FIRST TIME EVER 🥇
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) February 14, 2024
Daniel Wiffen is the new 800m Freestyle WORLD CHAMPION making history for Ireland! #swimming #AQUADoha2024 pic.twitter.com/dHEU0rClgy
“I can only speak for myself. I am not going to the Games to sit back and relax. I am going to win,” states Wiffen.
“I will try my hardest to be on that podium and I think maybe that’s what has changed in Irish sport over the years. We are not here to take part. I am here to put my foot firmly in the ground and show them what our nation can do.”
He puts his confidence down to a secure family unit. His father, Jonathan, worked for years in India as a pharmaceutical expert. He is from Leeds, and Daniel’s own broad vowel accent has much more in common with Yorkshire than it does with Armagh, where he moved when he was just two.
His mother Rachel, was an O’Keefe, born in England herself, but her family roots are in Cork.
While his father worked in India, Daniel got into the habit of Facetiming him every day, and he keeps up that routine to this day.
Rachel became the chief taxi driver to her daughter Beth and three boys, Daniel, Nathan and Ben who all excelled at swimming and trained in Lisburn and Larne.
“I’m sure it was hard for my mum. But our family is very strong. That’s probably where I get my confidence from because we are all very confident in our own areas.
“My Dad, I’d say he is one of the leading pharmaceutical experts in his area. I’m confident that I am the best swimmer in the world. My sister works in media and advertising and is great at that. My brother is a great coach and a gym owner now, he has built his own gym, Wiffen Fitness Nation, and he has just opened this week (in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh).
“Our whole family is very confident and I think it pushes me further. I want to be the best in my family and in the world and I guess that’s where the confidence comes from.”
His Olympic dream is tinged with an element of regret in that twin Nathan did not qualify. His chances hinged on a solo swim at the end of May at the Irish Championships in Dublin.
He swam the 1,500 metres at a personal record of 15:06.48, 14.63 seconds quicker than his previous best time, but still 5.5 seconds off the qualifying standard.
Despite that, Nathan swallowed his disappointed. The twins study in Loughborough University and they have carried on as if both were going to Paris to compete.
“Nathan is my training partner so he is doing everything the same as me,” says Daniel.
“Nathan is not going to race again for the season so he is done. But he has finished the Europeans and has continued to train away and be basically my support through the final phase before I go to the Olympic village.”
He adds: “I was disappointed. But that’s over and done with now. It’s in the past.
“You know what? It doesn’t really matter. He went to the Europeans and took part in his first senior International and did really well – he came fourth. What else can we ask for?
“Maybe Nathan, it wasn’t the right time for him and it’s because he only started distance swimming about a year and a half ago. It’s a big ask, a year and a half to specialise for an event and make the Olympics.
“But I think he had quite a lot of pressure. He is the brother of the world champion. People kind of expect him to make it. I was very happy with his times and maybe a little bit sad selfishly, because he was not going to make it. But he is here with me to support me, so I don’t mind.”
In Loughborough, they talk about his strong Irish accent. In Ireland, his English inflections come to the fore.
But he never had a Rory McIlroy moment where he questioned his nationality.
“I swim in Ireland, I did all my schooling in Ireland. I did everything here, so why would it ever come into my mind that I would ever want to represent Great Britain?” he asks.
“My goals when I started swimming, or at least one of them, was to make sure Irish swimming was faster than British swimming and I am happy to say I have accomplished that goal because of our records last year in distance swimming.”
Daniel and Nathan have a variety of interests outside the pool. Both acted in The Frankenstein Chronicles and they had a cameo role in Game of Thrones.
He shares a lot of his life on YouTube and couples it with soundtracks. He’s into everything, on that score. A bit of country music? Why not!
Before races though, he switches to electronic music, something uplifting and up-tempo, such as Medusa, or the rhymes of J. Cole.
Now 23, this is his second Olympics. While swimming is a short career, he doesn’t see why he cannot make the Olympics in 2028 and 2032.
“I would say (I have) another two Olympic cycles of me being at my best. The peak age for a long-distance swimmer is about 27. So I am definitely not at my peak, I have another Olympic cycle to get to my peak.
“I am looking forward to progressing.
“For my final cycle, I will be at the stage where I am just training and hoping to stick where I am and finish on the podium.”
Watch out for Wiffen.
