The morning that Irish swimming star Daniel Wiffen won his country’s first-ever men’s Olympic swimming gold medal started out in typical fashion. He woke up, ate breakfast, and went for a swim. But in the hours before his 800-m freestyle final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, butterflies—or something like it—started to set in.
“The only difference from a normal day is that I was like, sh-tting myself, honestly,” said Wiffen after his thrilling victory at La Défense Arena in Nanterre, France on Tuesday night. “I’ve never been this nervous.”
Wiffen fought off the jitters to hold on to victory, setting a new Olympic record in the event with a time of 7 minutes, 38.19 seconds. (Finally, there was some kind of record in the pool, whose shallow depth has been the subject of consternation for creating waves that may be slowing swimmers down). American Bobby Finke, the defending Olympic champ, made his typical charge in the last 50 m—Finke is known for his finishing speed—but Wiffen touched the wall first, barely: Finke finished with a time of 7 minutes, 38.75 seconds, just .56 seconds behind the winner.
To Wiffen, the stars were aligned for victory. His birthday, he noted after the race, is July 14—the same as Bastille Day. He noticed there was a storm outside the arena at 9 p.m,, a few minutes before the start of his race. “We’re renaming that storm ‘Storm Daniel,’” Wiffen told his coach.
Ireland is reveling in its Paris aquatic moment. Going into the men’s 800 free, the country has just three swimming gold medals in its history; they were all won by Michelle Smith at the 1996 Games. Irish officials and fans were already buzzing around town thanks to the bronze won on Monday by Mona McSharry, in the women’s 100-m breaststroke.
With Wiffen’s win, Paris should expect even more Irish energy these next few nights. A fair number of green-clad fans have descended upon Paris. “It’s as close as we’ll get to a home Games,…
