Daniel Wiffen scraps through to 800m Freestyle final at World Aquatics Championships
Wiffen finished in a time of 7:46.36 to finish fifth in his heat and had a nervous wait to see if he would progress to the final.
As the final heat results were confirmed Wiffen reached the final in eighth overall and will have the outside lane for the final on Wednesday where he looks to defend his World Championships title which he won in Doha last year.
Speaking after the race Wiffen was disappointed with his overall swin but now has the chance to defend his title.
"I mean, obviously pretty disappointed with the overall swim of the 800, but we've got a lane, so we've got a chance to defend my title, and I'm going in with that mindset of that I can win this still, even though I'm eighth in.
"I just feel really weak at the moment. I felt it in the 400m (Freestyle) and then I felt it in the 800 free, so something's going wrong, I just need to figure out what it is and then change it for tomorrow night's final."
The 800m Men's Freestyle final will take place on Wednesday at 12.02pm (Irish time) which is exactly one year on from when Wiffen won gold at the Olympics in Paris.
National Centre Limerick's Jack Cassin swam a personal best to secore a top 20 play in the World in the 200m Butterfly heats.
Cassin's PB of 1:57.04 beats his best of 1:57.34 at the European U23 Championships in June where he finished fourth in the final.
The Cork man was delighted with his swim after the race.
"I'm definitely happy with that, you know. It's been a long season, so I'm kind of happy to drop some more time in that 200.
"You know, trials wasn't exactly what I wanted, and then I was really happy with the time that I went at Europeans U23s, so, to kind of come back and improve a little bit there. Definitely have to like refine some skills, see what I can work on for the next season, but it's definitely motivated me now."
Speaking on his debut at the World Championships Cassin added "I mean, it's unreal, you know, we have some of the senior guys, like Mona, Daniel, Ellen, Danielle, and they've all been here so many times for World Champs, they've been to Games.
"So, to kind of feed off that experience that they've had and learn from them. I've definitely took some tips from Danielle and she's kind of told me what to do, not to be stressed, you know, not really many people are looking at you here, so it's kind of nice to be in your own zone and focus on yourself."
No Irish swimmers were in action in the afternoon session on Tuesday in Singapore. Wednesday will see Ellen Walshe return to the water in the 200m Butterfly heats. Walshe only added this event to her roster earlier this year after a five-year gap and has made big strides from a best of 2:14.15 in 2020 to an Irish Record of 2:08.42 in March this year.
Danielle Hill will take part in the 50m Backstroke with Evan Bailey back in the pool for the 100m Freestyle heats.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
12 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Music, sport and fashion collide as jersey trend sweeps summer festivals
'Up United,' shouted one camper, as he spotted a classic 1990s football top on a stranger who was making their way through the campsite. With Dublin band Fontaines DC taking to the stage on Friday night, the 'uniform' was clearly jersey or bust – the band have collaborated with League of Ireland club Bohemians in the past. Dublin native Dan Cashell, who was sporting a Bohs away kit released last year, said: 'Football clubs have touched the cultural zeitgeist of social issues. 'As someone who has a lot of jerseys in my collection, it's exciting to put one on in a fashionable way, but there's an element of showcasing your roots too.' Katie Murphy from Dublin wore a niche Texan 7-a-side jersey. 'It's acceptable to wear football jerseys, no matter where you're coming from or who you are,' she said. 'It's such a collective experience. I don't even think it's a Fontaines thing. It was a thing before, but they have boosted it. It's a Bohemians thing I think, a clever way for football clubs to showcase a community.' Bohs jerseys have also recently become synonymous with the pro-Palestine movement. Belfast rap group Kneecap have been vocal on the issue and their manager Daniel Lambert is also chief operating of Bohs. 'I love seeing old football kits,' Mr Cashell said. 'There is something really nice about a niche jersey that creates immediate familiarity. For a club like Bohemians, regardless of the intention, every one supports a club that a decade ago was on the verge of bankruptcy. 'Jerseys can represent both a cool item to wear at a festival but also an important social cause. The jerseys look great.' Spotting the trend, All Together Now 2025 has partnered with Umbro to bring out two editions of a commemorative jersey. ADVERTISEMENT Even Jameson, a sponsor of the weekend, has bought into the buzz, releasing a range of rugby jerseys for the event. 'Jameson are attempting to connect with a moment in fashion, but they are missing out on the social and community aspect,' Mr Cashell said, before admitting he would still like to get his hands on one. For festival-goers who didn't go for a jersey, the Claddagh emblem was another ubiquitous sight, seen on everything from fingers to T-shirts. It seems the traditional Celtic revival is in full swing in Curraghmore, a nod to the strong Irish line-up on offer over the weekend. Fans are enjoying the picturesque venue, where the main stage is placed at the base of a natural amphitheatre. Organisers welcomed the biggest Irish acts around, including Fontaines DC, CMAT and Bicep. The campsite opened on Thursday evening, a first for the Waterford festival which previously opened the gates on Friday morning. By the time the weekend officially started, the party was in full swing. With the rain staying away for the early stages of the festival, it was set to be one to remember.
Irish Daily Mirror
41 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Eamon Dunphy's most savage punditry putdowns as legendary RTE analyst turns 80
Irish football institution Eamon Dunphy turns 80 on Sunday, August 3. The one time Manchester United apprentice had a great career in England and Ireland as a player but he is best known for his contribution to the analysis of the game in recent decades. As an RTE pundit alongside Johnny Giles and Liam Brady, the group became unmissable viewing under the stewardship of presenter Bill O'Herlihy on the national broadcaster and often provided more entertainment than the game itself. While Giles and Brady produced their finest moments on the field as two of the greatest Irish footballers of all time, Dunphy really shone under the spotlight of the TV cameras. In 2018, he stepped back from his RTE TV duties and he has been sorely missed by football fans on the box. His acid tongue and brutally honest opinions were often the highlight of any live TV game on RTE. As a long-time pundit, Dunphy watched some of the finest players in the history of the game and has been suitable unimpressed by quite a lot of them. The following are players Dunphy has described as 'not great on TV: Steven Gerrard (a nothing player) Zinedine Zidane (not a great player) Michel Platini (not a great player, no bottle) Diego Maradona (not a great player) Dunphy could wax lyrical about a player when he wanted to but it's the cutting comments that will live longest in the memory. As the legendary Dubliner turns 80, we look back at his 10 best one-liners and putdowns. 1. On Harry Kewell: "He's fat and a clown, a fat clown for all to see" 2. On Niall Quinn: "Niall Quinn is a creep. The man's an idiot, a Mother Teresa" 3. On Cristiano Ronaldo: " Ronaldo is a disgrace to the game. His petulance, temperament, throwing himself on the ground. It was a disgrace to professional football. This fella Ronaldo is a cod." 4. On Mick McCarthy: "He's one of the biggest whingers in world football… he's a bloody eejit." Bill O'Herlihy, Johnny Giles, Liam Brady and Eamon Dunphy in the RTE studio 5. On Steve Staunton: "Would you let him drive the train to Cork?" 6. On John Giles: "Usually it takes a bottle of Bacardi and a gallon of Coke to get John out of his seat." 7. On Garth Crooks interviewing Sven Goran Eriksson on BBC: "That's the first time I've seen sex between two men on the BBC." 8. On the very hostile boardroom at Real Madrid: "Bill, Bill... those directors over there are on another planet. They're on mushrooms or on acid, Bill." 9. On John Hartson: "I have a clip here of why Hartson is NOT a £7million it there Bill! (1 second in to the clip) Ok, hold it there Bill. (Draws a circle around Hartson's arse) Bill, that is NOT the arse of a £7million player!'' 10. On the Alex Ferguson-Gordon Strachan feud: 'Scots they're either nice or they're horrid and these two are horrid. Bill: 'The Scots wont like that Eamon, that's bordering on racism'. Eamon: 'It's not racism, it's ethnic criticism, Bill'.
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Josh Honohan delighted Shamrock Rovers have hit a big game fixture pile-up
Josh Honohan loves the biggest occasions and so is relishing the jam-packed schedule facing Shamrock Rovers at this vital stage of the season. The Premier Division table-toppers travel to the Brandywell to face third placed Derry City this evening (7pm), then make the trip to Kosovo for Thursday's Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg against FC Ballkani. Between last Thursday's second qualifying round second leg in Tallaght against St Joseph's and the FAI Cup third round clash with Longford Town on August 17, the Hoops are pencilled in for six games in 18 days. READ MORE: Keith Andrew picks his Brentford captain - and it's good news for Ireland fans READ MORE: Tottenham captain Son Heung-min announces final game for the club "Yes, we'll be busy," he said. "If we do well over the next couple of weeks we'll have the cup, we'll have the league and hopefully have a good European campaign. "That's why you want to come to this club, though. You want to be busy. If you're not busy you're not probably doing well. We're used to it now over the last couple of years and there's a good bit of experience in that dressing room. We'll be ready for it. "It's just more focus on one game at a time. Derry are up towards the top of the table, they're a really good team, they're always challenging. They don't just have a really good team, they have a really good squad. Josh Honohan at Ireland training in June (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) "Sunday's a big game but it's the same aim - whatever game we play we go out there to get three points and there'll be no difference on that." Honohan's performances last season as Rovers made history by becoming the first Irish side to qualify for the knock-out stages of a European tournament earned him an Ireland squad call-up. The 24-year-old is hungry for Stephen Bradley's side to get back to the big stage. "You want to do that as a footballer," he said. "It's a big reason why I wanted to come here. It's an opportunity that we'll hopefully get. Obviously, we'll have a couple of rounds to win to get to that stage that we did last year. "That's a big reason why you want to play when you're younger, to go to Vienna, to go to Sparta Prague, to go to Chelsea - those experiences are really, really positive. I'll probably reflect on it more when my career is finished. "Every game is a big game but obviously the European games are big games, we're playing against top opposition. I want to do well in every game that I play. "The European games, they're really good teams and if we do well in the next couple of games we'll be playing against some top opposition like we did last year. I set a standard and it's up to me to meet that standard, no matter what game it is." Bradley made a host of changes for the second leg against St Joseph's on Thursday after the Hoops cantered to a 4-0 victory in Gibraltar. Honohan insists that the stalemate at home won't affect his team's momentum. Josh Honohan (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) "It's probably just one of those games where sometimes we were just looking for that goal," he said. "I definitely thought we were a much better team on the night. It will be full focus on Sunday. "It was actually a tough enough game. A good bit of credit has to go to them, they dug in and they defended really well. The main aim before the tie started was to go through and we've done that." On a lighter note, he is delighted that another Corkman has been added to the house he is sharing with Rory Gaffney, Lee Grace, John McGovern, Matt Healy and Ed McGinty. Even more so because the new arrival is his 19-year-old brother, Callum. "Yeah, it's good now," he smiled. "We haven't been fighting too much! I told him to bring up the PlayStation, so we're not fighting. "He's settled in really well. I'm full of faith that he'll be a really big player for the club in the future. He's a really good player now but he's got a lot of potential. That's a big reason why he came up here, to fulfil that potential." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
