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There wasn’t a dry eye in the country when Daniel Wiffen stepped onto the first step of the podium on Tuesday night.
The swimmer secured Ireland’s first gold medal at the Olympics this week.
He stormed the final stretch of the 800m freestyle final to clinch gold at Paris 2024.
Not only did he cinch a gold medal for Ireland but he also did it in an Olympic record time.
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He sailed through with a time of 7:38.19, narrowly beating Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri.
Speaking to RTÉ after the win he admitted: “I shed a lot of tears there. You never really see me cry, so it’s a big achievement for that! It’s amazing, I love hearing the national anthem.
“I think I’ve heard it more times in my life now than a lot of people. This is my sixth time this season hearing it, so it’s kind of crazy. I’m just so happy.”
The Armagh man got Ireland’s second medal of the games and the second medal in swimming since 1996.
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Daniel is no stranger to success as he won both the 800m and 1500m titles at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February of this year.
Comhghairdeas, Daniel!
