Paris 2024: Daniel Wiffen hardly slept after Olympic gold triumph

Olympic gold medallist Daniel Wiffen said he hardly slept after his 800m freestyle triumph.

The 23-year-old Armagh man stormed the final stretch in the La Defense Arena to clinch gold in an Olympic record time last night.

After receiving his medal on the podium, Wiffen said he went straight into anti-doping and then the swim-down before treating himself to some pizza.

"We left the pool at 12.30am, got back into the dining hall, had a couple slices of pizza, then tried to go to bed - did not happen," he said.

"Got to bed at about 3.30am and woke up at 7.30 this morning. I didn't get too much sleep but that’s not surprising.

"I watched it (the race) before I went to sleep because I knew I wouldn’t sleep so I watched it and I’m very happy, it was paced to perfection, that’s all we can ask for."

"Words can't describe how you feel when you wake up and next to your pillow is an Olympic gold medal," he added.

Gold medal winner Daniel Wiffen speaks to RTÉ Sport the day after winning gold in the 800m freestyle #RTESport #Paris2024