Paris 2024: ‘I’m not leaving without an Olympic medal’ – Daniel Wiffen

Despite heading to Paris as reigning world champion, a relaxed Wiffen doesn’t feel like the weight of his medals from Doha will slow him down.

“I don’t think it adds more pressure, it just adds more experience,” he said.

“It makes it a lot easier going into this Olympics because I’m going in with the backing that I’ve already performed really well this year.

“The World Championships adds to the feeling that I am actually quite good.”

Wiffen, a student at Loughborough University, has been progressing at a rapid rate that has witnessed him go from outsider to genuine medal contender in the space of a few short years.

Despite it being the Olympic games, he is treating it as “just another competition”.

“I keep progressing at these major competitions. There hasn’t been a major competition where I’ve not PB’d..

“So it’s cool to say and it really gives me a lot of confidence going into these Olympics.”

Wiffen says he has a “dream team” that consists of his coach Andi Madley and twin brother Nathan, who is also a swimmer but missed out on qualification for the Games.

Nathan, however, will be there in Paris to help support his twin and “keep me sane”.

In terms of peaking at the right time for the Games, he credits Madley for his routine in and out of the pool.

“I’ve never heard an Irish swimmer go in and say there are a double world champion going into the Olympics.

“We are doing something right and we are ready to keep it up.”