Daniel Wiffen beaten in World Championship swimming title defence
The Olympic champion, exactly a year on from his gold medal victory in Paris, recorded a time of 7:58.56 as Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi (7:36.88) won gold ahead of German pair Sven Schwarz and Lukas Martens.
Wiffen, defending the world title he won in Doha last year, raced from lane 1 and led early in the race. But he slipped to fifth place midway through the race before finishing eighth.
The 24-year-old, who is recovering from appendicitis, said his stomach was "in pieces" during the race at the World Aquatics Championships.
"I know last time I spoke, I didn't think I was going to make the final but we got in there, we got eighth place, last in the final," the Armagh man reflected afterwards.
"Obviously, not my best showing, from last year winning the Olympics to coming eighth in the final. But honestly, I'm happy to be in the final, still progressing.
"Still getting those nerves up. That's what sport's about, trying to get myself comfortable and I was definitely comfortable in that race.
"I'm pretty sure I was leading at one point, and then I got to the 400 and then (my) stomach was in pieces.
"So, not my best showing but I'm happy to be in the final, happy to represent Ireland again in the final."
Wiffen, who was the last of qualifiers for the 800m freestyle final after clocking a time of 7:46.36 in his heat on Tuesday morning, will defend his 1,500m freestyle title over the weekend.
The heats take place on Saturday morning, with the final taking place on Sunday, the final day of the tournament.
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