Ireland gold medal hopeful Daniel Wiffen is ultra-confident of glory in Paris
"They’ve spent billions cleaning up the Seine and a lot of people want to see people swim in it, and I want to do it, too"
Ireland's double world champion swimmer Daniel Wiffen wins the gold medal for confidence going to Paris 2024.
Wiffen has always believed in his ability to compete at the top and backed that up by topping the podium twice at the Worlds in Doha last year, having broken the longest world record in the short course version of the sport in late 2022.
Wiffen insists that nothing that his main medal rivals have done in recent months has caused him to sit up and take notice.
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"I would have if they had taken over my number one ranking in the world, but to be honest no one has come close, which is a bit weird," he said.
"But it’s all going to be on the day. I’m sure my time from the world championships won’t last - because I’m definitely going to beat it. So I hope somebody else will be in there for the race."
With his sights set on Olympic gold in the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle events in Paris, the 23-year-old claims that his main concern is whether he will compete in the 10km open water race in the Seine afterwards.
Wiffen starts his medal quest on Sunday week in the 800m heats - the final takes place the following day. The 1500m heats and final follow on August 3 and 4, before the open water finale takes place five days later.
"It is exciting," he said of the final race in his schedule, one that he has never attempted in a competitive race before.
"After the 1500m, if all goes well and I come out with a medal I’ll be like, ‘do you know what, maybe I’ll party’, or I’ll have to keep my head strong for the 10km. I’ll have to see what happens. I'm looking forward to the 10km, I’ve never done it before and it being beside the Eiffel Tower makes me want to do it even more.
"It’s probably the main event in the Olympics, I'd say. They’ve spent billions cleaning up this river and a lot of people want to see people swim in it, and I want to do it, too.
"I've heard a lot of rumours over whether it's going to happen in the Seine. If it does, I'll be there - and I'll be definitely going for the podium in that.
"My goal is to get a photo at the finish line in front of the Eiffel Tower, hopefully in first place. But we’ll see. My aim is definitely to make podium in the 800m, 1500m and the 10km. A swimmer has never won the 1500m and the 10km, so if I win the 1500m why not go for the win in the 10km? We’ll see what happens but the 10km is, like, no pressure."
Wiffen's ambition is to cement his status as the world's best long distance swimmer at the Olympic Aquatic Centre and has no problem saying it.
“Honestly, like, no-one is really coming out and telling me what to do," he said. "I'd like to say I’m quite a veteran now. I’ve done an Olympics, I’ve done a Commonwealth Games, two Village atmospheres, so I know what’s happening.
"I’ve won the World Championships so coming into this Olympic Games I feel like, I’m not going to say there’s no pressure but there is kind of no pressure because I’ve done it before. All I have to do is repeat it on the day and I’ve done it every time. I’ve PB-ed on the big stage, why not keep it up for another year?
"I’ve always been confident, ever since I was really young. Maybe I was too confident for the results that I was producing when I was younger but, now, they’re starting to catch up.
"A lot of people say me and my twin (Nathan) are very different, very mentally different, so I would like to say I was born with it, but we’re the exact same - so maybe I just developed it over time."
A number of Irish swimmers have told their story recently of coming through adversity in the sport, of contemplating quitting before finding a way to be successful.
That isn't Wiffen's story, however. “No, maybe people are going about it in the wrong way," he suggested. "I’ve never thought about quitting swimming in my life.
"I always say I’d train every day of my life and never compete again. I just love the sport - maybe I’m the only swimmer that has ever said that, maybe that’s why I’m different.
"I’ve never felt that. I’ve always just wanted to be swimming, even on my off day on a Sunday, I want to be swimming. It’s kind of weird."
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