DANIEL WIFFEN BROKE the Irish national record — and recorded a personal best — in a time of 7:51.65 to win his men’s 800m freestyle heat in Tokyo today.
The 20-year-old ranked 14th overall however and fails to progress, despite his impressive showing.
“It’s my first real senior international so happy that I could perform on the day,” the Armagh native told RTE afterwards.
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“I was hurting a lot down the first 400 and I kind of got into my rhythm in the second half which was good. I took inspiration from Jack McMillan who just swam and did a P and an A time in the 200-free.
“I knew I’d win the last 15 metres, I had the speed.”
Wiffen – who swims for Loughborough University — will next look to the 1500m event on Friday.
“We’ve got so many world-class athletes in the Irish team and I’m glad to be a part of it to be honest,” he said.
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Daniel Wiffen breaks Irish record to win 800m heat in Tokyo
DANIEL WIFFEN BROKE the Irish national record — and recorded a personal best — in a time of 7:51.65 to win his men’s 800m freestyle heat in Tokyo today.
The 20-year-old ranked 14th overall however and fails to progress, despite his impressive showing.
“It’s my first real senior international so happy that I could perform on the day,” the Armagh native told RTE afterwards.
“I was hurting a lot down the first 400 and I kind of got into my rhythm in the second half which was good. I took inspiration from Jack McMillan who just swam and did a P and an A time in the 200-free.
“I knew I’d win the last 15 metres, I had the speed.”
Wiffen – who swims for Loughborough University — will next look to the 1500m event on Friday.
“We’ve got so many world-class athletes in the Irish team and I’m glad to be a part of it to be honest,” he said.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Big impression Daniel wiffen Olympics tokyo 2020