Daniel Wiffen breaks 18-year-old event record in final leg of tour meet
Daniel Wiffen broke the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour event record in the 1500m freestyle as four days of racing across two countries concluded tonight in Canet, France.
Wiffen was the first Irish swimmer in the pool, competing in the 1500m freestyle final.
Wiffen, who has already claimed gold in the 800m freestyle and bronze in the 400m freestyle in Barcelona, opted out of last night's 400m freestyle final to focus on tonight's race.
The strategy paid off, Wiffen delivered a standout performance in front of a packed arena in Canet. The 23-year-old led the race at the halfway mark with a split of 7:25.37, increasing his stroke rate to dominate the remainder of the race.
The Olympic champion touched the wall in 14:54.71 to claim gold, with his closest competitor finishing in 15:01.66.
The time also saw Wiffen shatter the Mare Nostrum record, held by legendary Australian swimmer Grant Hackett (15:00.58) since 2007.
Ellie McCartney continued her excellent form from the Irish Open into the Mare Nostrum, capping off an impressive week with a bronze medal in the 200m Breaststroke Final. The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer clocked 2:24.55 to finish third, just 0.3 seconds behind silver.
Danielle Hill wrapped up a busy week at the Mare Nostrum with another final, this time in the 100m Backstroke. She posted a time of 1:01.50 to finish fifth. Hill leaves the meet with a collection of strong performances in preparation for Singapore.
Jack Cassin brought the curtain down on Ireland's participation at the 2025 Mare Nostrum, racing in the 200m Butterfly final. The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer dropped nearly three seconds from his heat swim to finish sixth with a time of 1:58.71.
Attention will now turn to June for the Sette Colli meet, which is set to feature several swimmers heading to Singapore including, Wiffen, Mona McSharry, and Ellen Walshe.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Former European champions set to be offered 70,000-seater new stadium as mayor backs ‘$1billion' new project
FORMER European champions Hamburg could be offered a brand new stadium as part of Germany's Olympic bid. The city is set to enter the race to become the nominee for Germany for the second time. 2 A new 70,000 stadium could be built for Hamburg 2 Hamburg have played at the Volksparkstadion since 1953 Credit: Getty Hamburg residents previously rejected the opportunity to become the select city for the games at the ballot box in 2015. But now they could be persuaded by the promise of a new stadium, which would become home to Hamburg after the Games. The new $1billion arena could boast a capacity between 60,000 to 70,000. And it will be built even if Germany's bid to host the summer Olympics fails, according to Germany Interior Senator Andy Grote. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher has backed the project and handed over the necessary bid documents to the DOSB - Germany's Olympic body. He said: "The bids of previous decades consisted of a city being rebuilt to accommodate the Olympic Games. And we reversed this principle." The city shouldn't adapt to the Games, "but rather we adapt the Olympic concept to our city," he added. The new stadium would be built right next to Hamburg's iconic Volksparkstadion, which has been their home since 1953. Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS A refurbishment of the ground was completed in 2000 for the 2006 World Cup - it seats 57,000 fans. Germany's Olympic body still needs to decide whether to bid for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Games. 'Looks class' - Three-time English champs release incredible video as they prepare to build one of UK's biggest stadiums Germany last hosted the Olympics in 1972 in Munich. Bids from Berlin for 2000 and Leipzig for 2012 failed, while Munich's bid for the 2022 Winter Games was also stopped by a referendum.
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Josh Honohan: Versatility is definitely a strength of mine
Presuming John O'Shea is delegated defensive duties within the Irish coaching ticket would be dangerous with Heimir Hallgrímsson around. The Icelander's soundbites resonate with the last non-Irishman to take the reins, Giovanni Trapattoni, for the priority he places on fundamentals. Josh Honohan's promotion to the squad tallies with that outlook, the Corkman considered one of the best League of Ireland defenders in recent years. Sunday's introductory session at Abbotstown was a leisurely workout before the real work began on Monday. First things first for the Ireland boss was assembling his defenders away from the main group to engage in shadow drills without the ball. 'It's still fresh to me but you can see why he's been successful as an international manager,' said Honohan, referring to Hallgrímsson's track record with his homeland and Jamaica. 'He's shown me clips of the way we play and little principles we have. He wants us to be a well-drilled team with good shape - and you can see he is a top manager.' Honohan has two friendlies – at home to Senegal on Friday and away to Luxembourg next Tuesday – to make his debut and push for inclusion in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers. Silverware has eluded him since he left Cork City to join Shamrock Rovers chasing their fifth successive title at the start of last season. Shelbourne denied the Hoops that unprecedented sequence but his call-up to the Irish fold was based primarily on how he fared on the European run that included a trip to eventual Conference League champions Chelsea. While Colin Healy praised Honohan's lightning pace at City and Stephen Bradley talked up his ability to operate with either foot, he didn't always mark himself out as a future Ireland defender. 'I never went to the UK as a teen but never saw it as a negative,' said the 24-year-old, recalling several of his peers receiving invites from interested clubs. 'I played with Carrigaline United until I was 16. I was lucky I had great coaching down there and then I went to Cork City, the academy there, had brilliant managers there and I think that is definitely something that helped me. 'Coming to Shamrock Rovers last year, with the standards they set, the manager, and the rest of the staff there, has improved me. 'You always have confidence in your own ability because if you don't then nobody is going to have confidence in you. 'I think in the modern game you must be versatile, comfortable playing in different positions. And, having done that in the last couple of years, I definitely think it's a strength of mine.'
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘We're taking thing as they come' says RTE star as he lifts lid on long-distance engagement & ‘next chapter' plans
RTE star and Olympian Jack Woolley has lifted the lid on his wedding plans to his long-distance fiance. The Irish Olympian and his fiance Dave Stig have been in a relationship since 2021. 2 Jack Woolley is engaged to his fiance Dave Stigg Credit: Instagram 2 Jack lifted the lid on their future wedding plans Credit: Instagram He'd planned to propose to Jack live on TV if he won DWTS — but had to hold off after gymnast rival However, personal trainer Dave couldn't wait until a much-needed post-show holiday in Instead, he popped the question to his partner of four years at DWTS' after-party — with Larry Bass, the boss of show producers ShinAwil, calling him up on stage. Read more on jack woolley Jack's time on Dancing With The Stars also meant that he and David got to spend a lot of time in Dublin together, as usually Jack spends most of his time training in Spain. And for as long as they are doing long-distance Jack doesn't plan on getting married to Dave. He told RSVP: "Obviously, I'm over here in Madrid and we're doing long distance. I don't think the best thing for us is to get married and then go back to doing long distance. 'For me, it's kind of when I decide to retire from the sport and things are starting to come to an end, that getting married will be the start of the next chapter, in a way. Most read in News TV 'We're just taking things as they come at the moment.' Additionally delaying their wedding plans is Dave's sister's upcoming ceremony. DWTS contestants jet off on holiday together Jack said: "His little sister is engaged, also, and she's getting married at the start of 2027. It's like, 'do we slip it in beforehand or do we wait until afterwards?' We're trying to figure it out." Although he has ruled out getting married anytime soon, the pair still have some aspects of their wedding planned out. He said: 'We have songs and colours and suits that we want picked out. But we don't know when the wedding is going to actually be, or anything like that." Jack previously told The Irish Sun, that he wants his pro-partner Alex Vladimariov to teach Dave the American Smooth — so they can perform his to Grace as their first dance. 'FIRST DANCE' Jack said: 'How fantastic would that be, hearing that song and dancing to Grace at a wedding in 'We are definitely going to get married here in this country and then another smaller get-together abroad. If someone wants to pay, they are more than welcome.' Speaking about Dave's surprise engagament, Jack said: "I thought he was going to wait until we got out to Spain to do it but he jumped the gun. 'And it turned out to be a great idea with all our friends and family there that night at the party. I am so happy.'
