Daniel Wiffen finished off the Irish line up in today’s swimming action in incredible fashion by winning his heat in the 800m Freestyle.
Wiffen stormed up the final length to secure a time of 7:51.65, beating his personal best, season best and Irish senior record of 7:52.68.
The record holder missed out on a top 8 qualifying spot but improved on his 24th place ranking coming into the event and finished in 14th place.
Speaking after the heat, Daniel beamed stating: “I am ecstatic! I got a Personal Best on the big stage.
“I came out top of the race. It is the Olympics, and I am happy to be here. I rebroke my old Irish Senior Record which is incredible.
“I have dropped about 20 seconds this year on it which is a lot. I felt it was like a 1v1 race at the end and I thought I have got to win this. I have got to show the nation what I am capable of.”
“I have huge support coming from home, my parents, family and extended family. It is my mum’s birthday today so happy birthday mum, I hope this was a good enough birthday present for you dedicate this win to you!”
When asked if he has more to bring for his next competition, he said: “I have enough left in the tank for my next competition, the 1500m.
“There were some parts of that race that I was not too happy with. I want to make sure I can improve on that for the 1500m.”
Wiffen competes again on Friday (Day 7 – July 30th) in the 1500m Freestyle.
