Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Daniel Wiffen.Bryan Keane/INPHO FreeSwimming Wiffen 'disappointed' despite Irish Open 800m freestyle triumph In front of a sold-out Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre, the Olympic champion clocked a time of 7:41:52. 9.39am, 14 Apr 2025 Share options DANIEL WIFFEN SET a new championship record when winning the 800m freestyle final yesterday at the Irish Open Swimming Championships, but revealed afterwards that he was ‘disappointed’ with his swim. In front of a sold-out Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre, the Olympic champion clocked a time of 7:41:52, a new championship record and he now leads the world rankings in 2025 so far. Wiffen’s time was just three seconds off his European and Olympic Record of 7:38.19. ‘This is the first time I’m going to say this on camera, I am quite disappointed,” said Wiffen afterwards. “For me, the way I’ve been training I was expecting quite a bit faster but if I look at the time itself it’s the same (time) I won the World Championships in, it’s within .2 of a second off, it’s still quite a good time to win the Irish Championships gold. It’s amazing seeing this many people in the NAC, I’ve never seen so many people at an Irish Open. I loved it, it’s great to see the crowds come out and watch Ireland’s best swimmers.” Advertisement Daniel Wiffen interviewed after yesterday's final..Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO In the 50m Freestyle Semi-Finals, Tom Fannon impressed once again with a top seeded time of 21.77, knocking one hundredth of a second off the championship Record of 21.78 he had set in Sunday morning’s heats. The time, which ranks Fannon fifth in the world this year, saw the Olympic semi-finalist under qualification for the World Aquatics Championships once again. Three-time Olympian Shane Ryan will be the second seed for Monday’s final of the event after he won the first semi-final in 22.30. Fifth ranked Oisin Tebite was home in 22.81, under the consideration time of 22.93 for the European Aquatics U23 Championships. Evan Bailey set his second championship Record of the meet and claimed the 200m Freestyle National Title in a personal best swim of 1:47.04. The National Centre Limerick swimmer knocked .04 off the time of 1:47.08 he had set in Saturday’s heats to win his first Irish Open Title. Cormac Rynn was the only other swimmer under 1.50 touching for silver in 1:49.41. National Centre Limerick’s Ellie McCartney continued her fine form in the 100m Breaststroke Semi-Finals and is now Ireland’s second fastest ever swimmer in the event having posted a time of 1:07.00, only Mona McSharry has been faster. McCartney will take the centre lane for Monday’s Final, with McSharry, who clocked 1:07.24, second ranked. In the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Semi-Finals Eoin Corby topped the rankings once again with a sixty-one second swim, Corby’s time was good enough to see him under the consideration time for the European Aquatics U23 Championships. Bangor’s Adam Bradley was second overall in 1:02.00, once again under the consideration time for the European Aquatics Junior Championships. 17-year-old Clare Custer won her first National Title in the 1500m Freestyle. The 17-year-old cruised to victory over Kingdom’s Lily Doyle (17:27.63) and Larne’s Skye Austin-Burrows (17:44.72) In the 200m Butterfly Final, Alana Burns Atkin retained the National Title for the fourth year in a row. The National Centre Ulster swimmer topped the podium in 2:16.85 followed by Eva Bayley of New Ross in 2:23.64 and Eva Hand of Bangor 2:29.83. Brandon Biss of Swim Belfast was crowned the first National Champion of the week as the Swim Belfast man came home in 56.72 in the Open 100m Backstroke Final. Biss finished behind Portugal’s Joao Costa who claimed commemorative gold in 54.91 and ahead of Neddie Irwin (57.67) of National Centre Limerick and New Ross’ Emmet Cousins (57.69). National Centre Ulster’s Lottie Cullen won her second consecutive 100m Backstroke National Title. The 20-year-old touched in 1:01.56 and inside the consideration time for both the World University Games and European Aquatics U23 Championships. National Centre Ulster’s Maria Godden was second in 1:02.10 with UCD’s Jena Macdougald claiming the bronze medal in 1:04.02. 17-year-old Niamh Connery, who secured a qualification time for the European Aquatics Junior Championships in the 100m Breaststroke, doubled up on events on day two with a win in the 200m Individual Medley. It was the Shark swimmers first National Title as she claimed gold in 2:20.91 ahead of UCDs Jena Macdougald (2:21.62) and National Centre Limerick’s Lucy O’Brien (2:23.28). Larne’s Danielle Hill leads the qualifiers for Monday’s 100m Freestyle Final winning the second semi-final in 55.46 seconds. Grace Davison won the first semi-final in 56.02 seconds to progress second overall. Jack Cassin was the fastest Irish swimmer in the 100m Butterfly semi-finals posting 53.32 behind Portugal’s Diogo Matos Ribeiro (52.75) and Germany’s Luca-Nik Armbuster (53.26). In tenth place, 16-year-old Thomas Bugler of Sundays Well was under the consideration time for the European Aquatics Junior Championships in 56.46. Competition continues this morning with the heats of the Open and Female 200m Backstroke, Open and Female 400m Freestyle, Open 200m Individual Medley and Female 100m Butterfly. Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Wiffen 'disappointed' despite Irish Open 800m freestyle triumph”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Wiffen 'disappointed' despite Irish Open 800m freestyle triumph”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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