Ireland has a new distance champion after Daniel Wiffen swam another impressive race at the World Championships in Doha on Sunday.
The Armagh man obliterated the field in the 1500m freestyle to claim gold.
His latest success comes just days after he won Ireland’s first world title in the 800m on Wednesday.
Wiffen posted a time of 14:34.07, finishing more than 10 seconds clear of German runner-up Florian Wellbrock.
👏🇮🇪DANIEL WIFFEN 🇮🇪BEST MALE SWIMMER at #AQUADoha2024 pic.twitter.com/eDGXigDJEz
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) February 18, 2024
Speaking after the race, the 22-year-old said breaking a world record is his next target, with his 1500m time three seconds shy of Sun Yang’s world record (14:31.02) which has stood since 2012.
“I’ve been planning to get it at some point, but it’s unreal to get that time in February,” Wiffen said.
His long course successes come after he set the 800m short course world record in December.
Capping off the competition, Wiffen’s historic efforts also saw him named the best male swimmer of the championship, with Team USA’s Claire Curzan named best female swimmer.
-Reuters