Daniel Wiffen poses with his bronze medal

Ireland's Daniel Wiffen celebrates with the bronze medal following the Men's 1500m Freestyle Final at the Paris La Defense Arena. Credit PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen wins 1500m Freestyle bronze

Daniel Wiffen’s incredible Paris campaign continued after securing his second medal of the games in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle.

The current º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ student clocked 14:39.63 to touch the wall in third behind Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri (14:34.55) in silver. The USA’s Bobby Finke won gold in a world record time of 14:30:67.

On the final night of swimming at La Défense Arena, many expected fireworks after Wiffen’s incredible gold in the Men’s 800m. Few, however, could have predicted Finke to maintain such a rapid pace from the start as the American dominated.

Wiffen, 23, remained in contention for the medal places throughout and duly cruised home in third to become the first Irish man to win more than one medal at the same games in 28 years.  

Wiffen’s legacy was further enhanced as his bronze contributed to Ireland’s best-ever record at a games – surpassing London 2012’s total (six medals).

“To be honest, the 800m surprised me at the start of the week,” Wiffen told BBC Sport.

"Coming into this race I was ready. I completely was in the right shape to go a lot faster than the world record but that's just swimming - some days you have it, some days you don't.

"If you'd told me I'd get a bronze medal at the start of the week, I'd be over the moon. Now I'm coming away with gold and a bronze, it's kind of special."

Daniel Wiffen recently told º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Sport how he spends a typical day. To watch the full feature visit here: /news-events/news/2024/july/day-in-the-life-swimmer-daniel-wiffen/

For all the latest º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ news around major global sporting events, visit the University’s dedicated website here: /sport/athletes-global-stage/

Join the conversation on social media with the hashtag #Lboro2Paris

Notes for editors

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