Daniel Wiffen celebrates after winning the Men's 800m Freestyle Final.(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Daniel Wiffen became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win Olympic gold in 36 years after a phenomenal performance in Paris.
The current º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ student stormed to victory in a gruelling Men’s 800m Freestyle final in a record time of 7:38.19.
Inside a raucous La Défense Arena, the 23-year-old produced a stunning finish to comprehensively hold off the challenge of American Bobby Finke.
Wiffen – who is coached by º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s Director of Swimming, Andi Manley – spoke before the games of his confidence to deliver a medal and he certainly delivered on that promise.
After cruising through the heats, he took the favourable Lane 4 in the final and soon set to work hunting down a landmark medal. Keeping pace for the first 600m, Wiffen timed his attack to perfection, hitting the wall at a canter after a rapid final 50m.
A visibly emotional Wiffen collected his medal in front of his family and wider support team.
Image provided by (AP Photo/Ashley Landis).
Speaking to BBC Sport after the race, he said: “I was writing 'I'm going into the history books', and that's exactly what I've done.
“It was definitely the way I wanted to execute it, it wasn't the time that I wanted, but Olympic finals aren't about getting times, it's about getting your hand on the wall first."
Wiffen’s medal is º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s first gold of the games and follows Adam Peaty’s silver on Sunday.
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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º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2024 QS World University Rankings – the eighth year running.
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º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
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