DANIEL WIFFEN HAS never participated in marathon swimming at any level but is going to dive into the Seine on 9 August for the Olympic 10k open water race.
The audaciousness of that statement is overtaken in his followup – that he’d like to medal in it too.
“Yeah, I’ve still got my sights on the marathon swimming,” Wiffen, 23, tells reporters after winning bronze in tonight’s 1,500m freestyle.
“I’m still going in with high expectations, don’t get me wrong. I want to be on the podium – still – for my first time. That would be pretty unbelievable.”
He tempers the message, however, making clear he knows that open water swimming is more about tactics than it is about speed or endurance, or even, training.
“It’s really just about the racing. It’s all very tactical. So it’s a different type of racing and so we’ll have to see.”
He wants to take a full 24 hours off from swimming before thinking about how to plot out the 10k.
“To be honest, I’ve got to go see my family tomorrow, hopefully meet a lot of people who I haven’t got to meet yet who want to see the gold medal and then probably get some photos going,” he says of his plans.
“The highs of winning a gold medal are great but then you have to put it behind you. After the 800m, all I was thinking about was when do you get ready for this 1,500m. And I didn’t get any chance to celebrate really at all.”
With a knowing nod, Wiffen tells a journalist to subscribe to his YouTube channel when she asks how he is training for the event.
However, he is not exposing himself to any possible e.Coli infections this week.
“If you watch my latest YouTube video, I posted me trying to practice going around buoys, but in terms of actually swimming in a river, I’ve not practiced it. I’ve decided that I’m not going to swim in the Seine until race day, I don’t want to have to deal with any illness before the race.
“It’s going to be a very new thing because I’m going in blind, it’s going to be a fun one. It’s probably better to do it blind.”
To say his career in management has been ‘largely unsuccessful’ is incorrect.He did have success at Sunderland.
That’s why I said ‘largely unsuccessful’ rather than ‘entirely unsuccessful’ Eamonn.
To call his management ‘largely unsuccessful ‘ is unfair Paul. He took Sunderland from bottom of the table to win the championship. Success.Then he kept them in the Prem. more success.
Already sick of the Roy Keane stories. I’ve read sweet f**k all about Martin O’Neill who last time I checked, was actually appointed boss, not Keane.
By the way I hope that O’Neill does not start tiptoeing around d**kheads like Stephen Ireland and Darron Gibson, begging them to come play for Ireland. If he puts 11 men out there who replicate the pride, commitment and passion shown by the likes of the Clare and Cork hurlers last month, in every game they play then ill be happy enough. You can’t ask for more than that. Leave the primadonnas at home.
Agreed. Had to laugh at Stephen Ireland being interviewed and saying he’s going to give some consideration to coming back. He hasn’t done anything to merit it since he was playing for City.
Last month, Roy helped his old Forest mate Gary Charles with some coaching at a University of Nottingham football match. I talked to some of the boys – after they got over the shock of Keane walking into their dressing room unannounced, they said he was articulate, obviously enthusiastic about what they were doing, and helpful in his critique. This is just one example of what he’s been doing the last three years; from helping some university players to observing training at Barcelona – he hasn’t just been walking the dogs and working for ITV. He’s been serious about trying to improve his skill set and I suspect he’s had a good old think about where he’s gone wrong in the past in his management style.
Since when does coaching come into international football??? Coaching is done at your club.
Tactics & the motivation are the only thing an international manager (that’s Martin O Neill everyone not Keane, just try remember that) gets to do with the short amount of time with the players……
Good work journo, another nonsense story
Lets take them across the water. Gerrard and Lampard could never play well together as they’ve only ever played one style of football and basically only predominantly for one club.
Coaching them at international level was the only way to get them to change their style of playing. Unfortunately for England it didn’t work. Possibly a good coach may have made it work.
A coach is essential at all levels.
A hotshot…. In precious few days that you have the players, how can you coach them?? Team organisation, tactics & mentally preparing them for an international match should be just scrapped for coaching grown men???
Kids get coached, precessionals listen to tactics
@Kevin: Maybe the lack of success was because they were trying to coach these two top players into a style of football they were both uncomfortable with, rather than having the tactical fluency to play them as they would wish to be played.
People seem to forget Martin O Neill is the manager not Roy Keane
I think your article is very misleading Paul. You are damning his coaching ability by criticising his man management skills. From what I gather he is an intelligent and innovative coach on the training ground whose management career was stifled by issues with the man management rather than the coaching.
I meant ‘coaching style’ in the broader sense of the word, Joseph. Man management can be considered a part of coaching.
Id disagree, man management is part of management, coaching can be a part of management too but would be more widely considered, in the context of British football at any rate, as the work done with players on the training pitch.
Sorry to say that while your articles are normally good I’m afraid you should have given this one a miss, it smacks of Sun type journalism.
FACT: Martin O’Neill is ROI manager
FACT:Roy Keane is his assistant and no doubt part of his coaching staff.
Why is all the talk about Roy and not what Martin brings to the job. From reports I have read, I have no idea one way or the other, O’Neill can be quite tough when he wants to be. So less of the jumping on the Dunphy bandwagon please.