IN WIFF A SHOUT
World champ Dan begins gold rush and isn’t shy about his chances
DANIEL WIFFEN’S destiny is calling this week – after providing compelling evidence that he can become Ireland’s first male Olympic medal winner.
Armagh’s double World swimming champion starts his 800m freestyle medal bid in the heats this morning.
All going well, he will be ready to go in the final tomorrow night – the biggest race of his life after finishing 14th in his debut Games in Tokyo.
He is a different athlete now. With the 1500m freestyle to follow later in the week, this is Wiffen’s time to shine on a global scale and he hasn’t been afraid to talk up his chances this year.
But his biggest rivals were not in Doha for the Worlds in February – Bobby Finke (above), the reigning
Olympic champion in the 800m and 1500m freestyle events, and Australia’s Sam Short.
Wiffen, Short and Finke are the favourites to make the podium as they are the only entries in the field to swim under the 7:40 mark.
They have a 2.5 second difference over their other competitors.
Short finished just outside the medals in the 400m freestyle final – his compatriot, Elijah Whittington, won the silver and is another threat in the 800m – although Witten beat him in the World Championship final.
Nothing has dissuaded the Loughborough-based 23-year-old from declaring that he has nothing to worry about from his opponents.
“I would have if they had taken over my number one ranking in the world right now but to be honest no one has come close, which is a bit weird,” said Wiffen. “But it’s all going to be on the day, isn’t it? 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.”
The Game of Thrones extra’s victories in the World event were Ireland’s first ever at that level and has raised expectations that he can deliver in the raucous La Defense Arena.
“I definitely am very impressed in his confidence levels because he says it and it happens – and that’s amazing,” said his teammate Mona Mcsharry.
“I think sometimes in sport there is a lot of fear of admitting a goal you have in case it doesn’t come through and then other people know you’ve failed. It’s cool the way he does that. I don’t know if I could ever do that.”
I’m definitely going to beat my time from the World Championships I hope somebody else will be in there for the race