Daniel Wiffen won the gold medal in the men’s 800 metres freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in a new Olympic record time of 7:38.19 – Ireland’s first Olympic gold medal in swimming since Atlanta 1996 and the first ever by an Irish male swimmer.

He added a bronze medal in the 1,500 metres freestyle four days later, becoming Ireland’s most decorated swimmer in Olympic history. He is also a two-time World Champion, having won the 800 metres and 1,500 metres freestyle titles at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha – the first male Irish swimmer to win a World Championship medal of any colour. He was the first individual Olympic gold medallist from Northern Ireland since Mary Peters at Munich 1972.

Born in Leeds, England, on 14 July 2001, Wiffen moved to Magheralin, Co. Down, at the age of two and grew up in Armagh, attending St Patrick’s Grammar School. He is one of four siblings – his identical twin brother Nathan is also an elite swimmer and was central to his success, training alongside him until the Paris Games and travelling to France to watch him race to gold. ‘I heard none of the crowd – just him, and that’s what calmed me down,’ Wiffen said after the 800m final. ‘We’ve done everything together. We’re womb mates. And now we share an Olympic medal.’ The twins and their sister Beth made early appearances on television, featuring as extras in the Red Wedding scene in Game of Thrones and in The Frankenstein Chronicles.

He and Nathan began swimming at three months old at Water Babies sessions, joined Lurgan Swimming Club at six, and Daniel joined the Irish national squad at thirteen. He beat long-standing national record holder Andrew Meegan in 2018 and moved to Loughborough University to train under coach Andi Manley – a move he credits as the turning point in his career.

His progress was rapid and methodical: 14th and 20th at his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Commonwealth Games silver for Northern Ireland in 2022, European short course gold and world record in the 800m freestyle in December 2023 – achieved the morning after spending the night vomiting with a stomach bug – and then the World Championship double in Doha in February 2024. ‘My goal was to progress, progress, progress until I hit Olympic champion,’ he said in Paris, ‘and I’m happy to say I’ve had a very good upslope in terms of swimming.’

At Paris he also became the first Irish athlete ever to compete in the Olympic 10km open water event, finishing 18th. He was named BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year 2024 and in 2025 donated €29,000 of his Olympic grant to his former school towards a new gym.