Meet Daniel Wiffen - Ireland's gold medal winning swimmer

Less than 24 hours after Mona McSharry became just Ireland's second ever Olympic swimming medallist, Daniel Wiffen followed her to the podium, claiming gold in the 800m freestyle.

Ireland’s second medallist of these games, the 23-year-old is also the first Irish male to pick up a medal in the pool, doing so with an emphatic Olympic record time of 7:38.19.

In a rarity for Ireland at the games, Wiffen’s gold came after expectation rather than just hope, and with the Armagh man still to race in the 1500m freestyle, as well as the 10km open-water swim, there may be even more to celebrate later this week.

Having won two World Championship golds earlier in 2024, there had been a weight of expectation around Wiffen’s shoulders coming into the games, but it’s not one that ever seemed to bother him.

Where so many Irish athletes are reluctant to lay their confidence out on the table, he has no such trepidation.

"I think everything in sport is to do with the mentality and I think I've probably got one of the best mentalities in the sport, in most sports to be honest," he told RTÉ Sport earlier this month.

"I definitely don't lack confidence. I've been told multiple times that I'm a most confident person. When I was younger I was definitely confident and that has grown as I have got faster."

He’s had every reason to be so self-assured after his improvements through this Olympic cycle.

Three years ago in Tokyo he made his Olympic debut, setting set new Irish records of 7:51.65 and 15:07.69 when placing 14th & 20th respectively in the 800m and 1500m freestyles. In the space of three years, he’s taken a cleaver to those times.

His current 800m national record is now more than 12 seconds better at 7:39.19, while his latest 1500m record of