Daniel Wiffen's gold medal-winning swim in the 800m puts him in some very elite company.
An emotional triumph saw him not only claim Olympic gold but also smash some pre-existing national and international records. Here are some of the more eye-catching records to show how amazing his performance and result is, in swimming and Irish Olympic history.
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All of the records set by Daniel Wiffen en route to Olympic gold
30 July 2024; An emotional men's 800m freestyle gold medallist Daniel Wiffen of Team Ireland during the award ceremony at the Paris La Défense Arena during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Swimming
- Olympic record
- First 800m Olympic Record set in the final
- Irish National Record
- European Record
- 5th fastest 800m swimmer ever (2 ahead of him are from the supersuit era of 2008-2009)
- His Irish national record is now faster than the US national record!
- First swimmer ever (male or female) to win gold in the same event at the World Championships and the Olympic Games in the same year!
Irish Olympic History
- Ireland's 12th gold medal at the Olympics
- He's the 10th person to win gold representing Ireland
- Ireland's 37th medal in total
- Ireland's 6th medal in swimming
- First male swimmer to win gold
- First male swimmer to win any medal
- First medal from someone from Armagh
- First medal for Ireland from an Ulsterman that wasn't in boxing
- First solo gold medal for an Irishman since 1992
- First solo gold medal for anyone from Ulster since 1992
With a second medal chance ahead of him this weekend, Wiffen competes in the heats of the 1500m freestyle on Saturday, ahead of the final on Sunday, which he is expected to be among the contenders for.
After that comes the 10km open-water swim, which may yet be moved to Vaires-sur-Marne, west of Paris, due to the quality of conditions on the Seine.
We get the feeling Daniel Wiffen will be breaking records for a while too!
SEE ALSO: Here's Every Gold Medal Won By Ireland At The Olympics
