Wiffen wins 1,500m freestyle heat and smashes Irish record at Olympics

Danielle Hill was also in action in the 50m freestyle heats at the Tokyo Games.

DANIEL WIFFEN HAS won his heat in the 1,500m freestyle while also breaking the Irish record at the Olympics in Tokyo.

Competing in the first heat, Wiffen finished in a time of 15:07.69 which shatters his previous Irish record of 15:16.90 but won’t be enough to qualify for the final. All four heats are now completed with the eight fastest swimmers progressing to the final.

Wiffen finished in 20th place overall.

It’s another impressive result for the 20-year-old Wiffen who broke the Irish national record for the 800m freestyle, clocking a time of 7:51.65 to win his heat. That time was also a personal best for Wiffen.

#Swimming

🔥 New IRISH SENIOR RECORD 🔥

Daniel Wiffen from Magheralin follows his 800m Freestyle record with a new standard in 1500m Freestyle!!

⏱️ 15:07.69 - betters his previous Irish record of 15:16.90 by miles!!

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 @swimireland pic.twitter.com/pXY3Y0c4LV
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 30, 2021

Elsewhere, Larne’s Danielle Hill finished in 6th place in her 50m freestyle heat in a time of 25.70 which won’t be enough to progress to the semi-finals.

#Swimming

Larne's Danielle Hill has finished 6th in her 50m Freestyle heat in a time of 25.70.

Second and final event of her Olympic debut. She won't advance to semi-finals this time, but now counts the days to Paris 2024 💪#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 @swimireland pic.twitter.com/txayS2UTAu
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 30, 2021