Daniel Wiffen

Wiffen competed in the men's 800 metres freestyle and 1500 metres freestyle events at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.^[7][8] He won his first senior international medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he placed second in the men's 1500 metre freestyle event and competed for Northern Ireland.^[9] In December 2022, Wiffen broke the European record for the 800 metres freestyle short course, becoming the first Irishman to hold a European record in swimming.^[10] He competed for Ireland at the 2023 European U-23 Championships in Dublin, where he became the inaugural European Under-23 champion in the 1500 metre freestyle event and won silver medals in the 400 and 800 metre freestyle events.

Wiffen won gold medals in the 400, 800 and 1500 metre freestyle events at the 2023 European Championships (25m) in Otopeni, where he also set a new world record in the 800 metre freestyle short course with a time of 7:20.46 and became the first Irish swimmer to win a European short-course gold medal.^[11] At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, he broke the European record for the 800 metres long course with the time of 7:39.19. Wiffen won gold medals in the 800 metre freestyle and 1500 metre freestyle events at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, becoming the first male Irish swimmer in history to win a medal at the World Championships.^[4][5]

Wiffen qualified for the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but decided not to compete in the 400m and instead swim in the 10 km open water swimming. He qualified in first place for the 800m freestyle final and on 30 July, he won the gold medal with a new Olympic record time of 7:38.19.^[12] The medal was Ireland's twelfth Olympic gold and first in swimming since the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was the second Irish swimming medalist at the 2024 games and the first individual Olympic Gold medal winner from Northern Ireland since 1972.^[13][14][15] On 4 August, Wiffen won the bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle final, with a time of 14:39.63.^[16][17] He placed 18th in the men's marathon 10 kilometre event and became the first Irish Olympian to compete in the discipline.^[18][19]

Wiffen was born in Leeds, England, and moved to Magheralin at the age of two. He was a pupil of St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh; in 2025 he gave his former school €29,000, from an Olympic grant, towards a new gym.^[20] He attends Loughborough University.^[21] He has three siblings, twin brother Nathan, sister Elizabeth and brother Ben.^[22][23] The family home is in Ballymacbredan County Down^[24] however the family associate with County Armagh.^[25] Wiffen's brother Nathan is also a swimmer who finished fourth in the 1500 metre freestyle event at the 2024 European Championships^[26] and narrowly missed out on the qualifying time for the event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.^[27]

Wiffen and his twin brother have a YouTube Channel.^[28] They both were extras in The Frankenstein Chronicles episode "Seeing Things" and the Game of Thrones episode "The Rains of Castamere," in which they appeared in the famous Red Wedding scene;^[29] in the latter, their sister Elizabeth also appeared as Neyela Frey.^[30][31]