Daniel Wiffen returns to Ireland to prepare for double gold dream at 2028 Olympics
“I’d like to think I’m a guaranteed two-gold medallist for LA, so it makes it exciting for Ireland to have medal contenders in the national centre,” Wiffen said.
HIS CALIFORNIA DREAM now brought to an early end, Daniel Wiffen has returned to Ireland in a move he believes will strengthen his pursuit of double gold at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Just six months after leaving Loughborough to join twin brother Nathan at the University of California, Berkeley, the pair have relocated back to Dublin and are now based at the National Aquatic Centre in Abbottstown.
For Wiffen, it is a reset built around familiarity, trust and performance with the added extras he feels can make him a double gold winner in LA, thus improving on his haul of gold and bronze at the Paris Games.
Daniel Wiffen with his gold and bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
The 24-year-old has reunited with former coaches Steve Beckerleg and Andi Manley, while Swim Ireland performance director Andy Reid – who coached him in Lisburn – was part of the planning behind a return that had long been considered as a fallback if the American move didn’t deliver.
That contingency is now a reality. “I’m looking at it as a permanent move,” Wiffen said. “I thought California would be too, but it didn’t work out. The plan now is to stay here until LA.”
Frustrated with how his training regime changed for the worse since making the transatlantic move in September, the Magheralin sensation feels the environment in Dublin can give him a better platform than Berkeley.
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“We’ve got a good set-up here and me and Nathan coming back is quite big,” he said. “I’d like to think I’m a guaranteed two-gold medallist for LA, so it makes it exciting for Ireland to have medal contenders in the national centre.”
The move was something he had hinted at before the Irish Open in Bangor, when he complained that the structure in California lacked intensity and direction. He said that he would only persist with his Stateside experiment if he achieved the times he wanted in Bangor and, despite winning the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle finals, he wasn’t satisfied.
“That was kind of the confirmation in my head that I wasn’t in the shape that I wanted to be in,” he said. “In the 1500m, I could just feel it fading and it was all down to the training. I just haven’t been doing the right type of work I used to do.”
The truth is that Wiffen had already worked out a contingency plan with Reid that would be activated if America didn’t work out and that was quickly put into operation when the time came.
“When you were in California, you kind of didn’t know what you were doing in the session,” he says now. “There wasn’t much guidance and not many people criticising technique.
“It felt like they didn’t want to mess up the Olympic champion. They were trying to do what they wanted rather than what was good for me.”
Daniel Wiffen with his gold and bronze medals. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
He also pointed to a cultural difference that didn’t suit him.
“It’s a laid-back lifestyle,” he explained. “In Loughborough, if they said 7am dive in, everyone was in. In California people were sitting around poolside for 15 minutes.”
Nathan’s return was another major factor, with the brothers again able to train alongside one another. Wiffen believes that partnership, along with the new support around them, can elevate his level beyond Paris.
“It’s like an improved version,” he said. “I’m doing the same work I was doing before, but at a better professional level.”
Part of that includes work with a physiologist linked to the Quick-Step cycling team, adding Tour de France expertise to their programme. “We’ve been doing testing around VO2 max, race suit testing and different training methods,” Wiffen said.
“I’m enjoying it so far and I feel a lot fitter. If the training goes in the right direction then I’ll probably have eyes on the world record in the summer.”
The Wiffen twins are part of a record 26-strong Irish team selected for August’s European Aquatics Championships, while Nathan will also contest the open water events on the Seine.
The squad includes Mona McSharry, Ellen Walshe, Danielle Hill and John Shortt, while breaststroker Jake Kelly is set for his senior championship debut. Jake Passmore will represent Ireland at the European Diving Championships.
And as for the bigger picture for Wiffen, the road to LA now runs through Dublin.
Ireland squad for European Aquatic Championships: Jacob Armon, Evan Bailey, Adam Bradley, Alana Burns-Atkin, Jack Cassin, Victoria Catterson, Eoin Corby, Lottie Cullen, Liam Custer, Grace Davison, Tom Fannon, Daniell Farrell, Conor Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Matthew Hamilton, Danielle Hill, Jack Kelly, Ellie McCartney, Mona McSharry, Denis O’Brien, Rosalie Phelan, Cormac Rynn, John Shortt, Ellen Walshe, Daniel Wiffen, Nathan Wiffen.
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Daniel Wiffen returns to Ireland to prepare for double gold dream at 2028 Olympics
HIS CALIFORNIA DREAM now brought to an early end, Daniel Wiffen has returned to Ireland in a move he believes will strengthen his pursuit of double gold at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Just six months after leaving Loughborough to join twin brother Nathan at the University of California, Berkeley, the pair have relocated back to Dublin and are now based at the National Aquatic Centre in Abbottstown.
For Wiffen, it is a reset built around familiarity, trust and performance with the added extras he feels can make him a double gold winner in LA, thus improving on his haul of gold and bronze at the Paris Games.
The 24-year-old has reunited with former coaches Steve Beckerleg and Andi Manley, while Swim Ireland performance director Andy Reid – who coached him in Lisburn – was part of the planning behind a return that had long been considered as a fallback if the American move didn’t deliver.
That contingency is now a reality. “I’m looking at it as a permanent move,” Wiffen said. “I thought California would be too, but it didn’t work out. The plan now is to stay here until LA.”
Frustrated with how his training regime changed for the worse since making the transatlantic move in September, the Magheralin sensation feels the environment in Dublin can give him a better platform than Berkeley.
“We’ve got a good set-up here and me and Nathan coming back is quite big,” he said. “I’d like to think I’m a guaranteed two-gold medallist for LA, so it makes it exciting for Ireland to have medal contenders in the national centre.”
The move was something he had hinted at before the Irish Open in Bangor, when he complained that the structure in California lacked intensity and direction. He said that he would only persist with his Stateside experiment if he achieved the times he wanted in Bangor and, despite winning the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle finals, he wasn’t satisfied.
“That was kind of the confirmation in my head that I wasn’t in the shape that I wanted to be in,” he said. “In the 1500m, I could just feel it fading and it was all down to the training. I just haven’t been doing the right type of work I used to do.”
The truth is that Wiffen had already worked out a contingency plan with Reid that would be activated if America didn’t work out and that was quickly put into operation when the time came.
“When you were in California, you kind of didn’t know what you were doing in the session,” he says now. “There wasn’t much guidance and not many people criticising technique.
“It felt like they didn’t want to mess up the Olympic champion. They were trying to do what they wanted rather than what was good for me.”
He also pointed to a cultural difference that didn’t suit him.
“It’s a laid-back lifestyle,” he explained. “In Loughborough, if they said 7am dive in, everyone was in. In California people were sitting around poolside for 15 minutes.”
Nathan’s return was another major factor, with the brothers again able to train alongside one another. Wiffen believes that partnership, along with the new support around them, can elevate his level beyond Paris.
“It’s like an improved version,” he said. “I’m doing the same work I was doing before, but at a better professional level.”
Part of that includes work with a physiologist linked to the Quick-Step cycling team, adding Tour de France expertise to their programme. “We’ve been doing testing around VO2 max, race suit testing and different training methods,” Wiffen said.
“I’m enjoying it so far and I feel a lot fitter. If the training goes in the right direction then I’ll probably have eyes on the world record in the summer.”
The Wiffen twins are part of a record 26-strong Irish team selected for August’s European Aquatics Championships, while Nathan will also contest the open water events on the Seine.
The squad includes Mona McSharry, Ellen Walshe, Danielle Hill and John Shortt, while breaststroker Jake Kelly is set for his senior championship debut. Jake Passmore will represent Ireland at the European Diving Championships.
And as for the bigger picture for Wiffen, the road to LA now runs through Dublin.
Ireland squad for European Aquatic Championships: Jacob Armon, Evan Bailey, Adam Bradley, Alana Burns-Atkin, Jack Cassin, Victoria Catterson, Eoin Corby, Lottie Cullen, Liam Custer, Grace Davison, Tom Fannon, Daniell Farrell, Conor Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Matthew Hamilton, Danielle Hill, Jack Kelly, Ellie McCartney, Mona McSharry, Denis O’Brien, Rosalie Phelan, Cormac Rynn, John Shortt, Ellen Walshe, Daniel Wiffen, Nathan Wiffen.
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2028 Olympics Daniel wiffen Nathan wiffen Swimming