For this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Daniel Wiffen has been announced for the Northern Ireland swimming team for his second senior Commonwealth Games, where he will be competing in the Men’s 400m, 800m and 1500m Freestyle, having previously won Silver in the 1500m Freestyle in Birmingham in 2022, which marked his first senior international medal. After the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Daniel will be competing at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris from the 10th to 16th August as part of Team Ireland, and last December, he won Gold in the 1500m Freestyle at the 2025 European Short Course Championships in Lublin, also winning Bronze in the 400m and 800m Freestyle. Daniel competed at his first Olympics at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games during the COVID pandemic for his first international competition, and he returned to Olympic competition at Paris 2024, becoming the Olympic champion in the 800m Freestyle, winning Bronze in the 1500m Freestyle, and he became the first Irish Olympian to compete in the Men’s Marathon 10km event in the River Seine. At the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, Daniel became the first male Irish swimmer to win a World Championships medal, having come away with the Gold medal in the 800m and 1500m Freestyle races. Previous competitions for Daniel have seen him become the 1500m Freestyle champion at the 2023 European U23 Championships at his home Championships in Dublin, also winning the Silver medals in the Men’s 400m and 800m Freestyle, and he set the world record in the Men’s 800m Freestyle, winning Gold at the European Short Course Championships in Otopeni, along with Gold for both the 400m and 1500m Freestyle. In 2024, Daniel was named the BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year, and alongside his twin brother Nathan (who is also an elite swimmer), he runs the Wiffen Twins YouTube channel. Speaking to Daniel, we found out from him about becoming the Olympic champion at Paris 2024 in the Men’s 800m Freestyle, being the first Irish male swimmer to win a medal at the World Championships and his further successes throughout his career so far, including setting the 800m Freestyle world record at the European Short Course Championships in Otopeni.

It has just been announced that you will be representing Northern Ireland at your second senior Commonwealth Games, where you are competing in the Men’s 400m, 800m and 1500m Freestyle, what are you looking forward to for competing in Glasgow later this year?

I can’t wait to compete in Glasgow this year because it is my first time trying to win a Commonwealth Gold medal after four years ago I won the Silver, so it’s time for the redemption swim.

How are you preparing for the Commonwealth Games and how does it feel to be returning to the Games after competing in Birmingham in 2022?

I cannot wait to compete at the Games for the second time. The Commonwealth Games is one of the few times that I can represent Northern Ireland. Obviously I learned to swim there and I did all of my education in Northern Ireland, so it means a lot to me to show my support by winning as many medals as possible.

For the preparation for the Games, I will be preparing in Dublin, so very close to Glasgow. I am training very hard for my goals.

At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, you won Silver in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle, what do you remember most from the race, and how was it coming away with your first senior international medal?

I have very fond memories of my first Commonwealth Games medal. I clearly remember that it was the first time that I stood on a podium for a global event, proudly looking out and seeing my friends and family in the crowd, celebrating this achievement together.

Can you tell us about competing at the 2025 European Short Course Swimming Championships in December in Lublin, where you won Gold in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle and Bronze in the Men’s 400m and 800m Freestyle?

That one meant a lot as I had to dig deep. After coming back from appendicitis, I was training for one month before I entered the European Championships, so I was very pleased to have won that Gold medal and two Bronze medals. It was the ignition point for this new cycle towards the LA Olympics.

How did you feel becoming Olympic champion at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the Men’s 800m Freestyle, and what did this medal mean to you?

Proud, emotional and hungry for more. Winning the Olympic Games is one of the highlights for an athlete in their respective sport. Winning it meant a lot, and it was very very special. It was the culmination of hard work that I, my team and family have put in since I was 12 years old. Those years came down to one race, one swim, on one day – seven minutes and 38 seconds.

You also won an Olympic Bronze medal in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle, and became the first Irish Olympian to compete in the Men’s Marathon 10km event; what did you enjoy most about competing at the Paris Olympics, and how different did you find competing in the open water Marathon event in the River Seine compared to your other races?

My Gold medal was certainly the highlight of the Games for me. However, I did enjoy the river race because I had never competed in a 10K Marathon swim before. It was new, and anyone that knows me knows that I like to challenge myself. I also got to do it with my teammates from Loughborough University, so it made everything more special when I was competing with them at an Olympic Games.

How was it making your Olympic debut during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and what is it like being part of Team Ireland at the Olympics?

It was very cool competing at the Tokyo Olympics because it was my first ever international competition, and obviously to be in the Olympics in your first major event was a proud moment. When I was there, I was very focused on racing, but being part of the whole experience for the first time was also very cool. It was also a strong learning experience for Paris.

You are the first Irish swimmer to win a medal at a World Championships, having won Gold in the Men’s 800m and 1500m Freestyle at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, what are some of your favourite memories from this competition?

My favourite memory from that competition was the 1500m Freestyle. It was on the last day of the competition and it was one of the biggest margins of victory ever in world swimming.

How did you find the experience competing in front of a home crowd at the European U-23 Swimming Championships in Dublin in 2023, where you were the Men’s 1500m Freestyle champion and won two Silver medals – in the Men’s 400m and 800m Freestyle?

This was my first time competing at a home international competition, so when I was competing, it was very special to see a lot of my friends and family and the crowds being able to watch me swim.

Also in 2023, you set the new world record in the Men’s 800m Freestyle, winning the Gold in that race as well as in the Men’s 400m and 1500m Freestyle at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania; how was it finding out you’d broken the world record and how did you feel standing on the podium to collect your three Gold medals?

In 2023, my favourite swimming race was that world record. Swimming in the 800 Freestyle that competition in Otopeni was probably my breakout year, well, part of my breakout year, for swimming, so that race really stands out to me. It’s one of the final moments that made me think I could win the Olympic Gold medal.

How did you get into swimming and did you always know you wanted to specialise in freestyle?

I started swimming because my older brother Ben started swimming with our school St Pats Armagh and he really enjoyed it. My parents decided that me and Nathan (my twin brother) should start doing it, so we started at seven years old and then we started competitive swimming at 12. I only started to specialise in freestyle when I went to university. I now want to inspire the next generation of swimmers.

Can you tell us about your typical training day, and how much has it changed over time?

My typical training day starts off with a 7am start in the pool, so I wake up at 6am and get to the pool for about 6:30am to do some stretching. I swim from 7am until 9am, normally about 8km swim, which could be fast could be slow depending on the day, and then I have a S+C session straight away. Of course, we refuel in between the swimming and gym session.

We then have an evening session after from 3pm until 5pm, where I do another 8km swim. Basically, if I can sum it up, it is train, recover, train, then repeat.

What is it like representing Ireland as a swimmer in competitions around the world and how was it being named the 2024 BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year?

I am proud to swim for Ireland and represent them on a global stage. I accept that I am a role model now, and want to inspire the next generation of swimmers. I always dreamt when I was younger of representing Ireland at the biggest stage at the Olympics, and to achieve that dream is special for me and my family.

Being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in Northern Ireland was also very cool because I have joined winners such as Rory McIlroy and that’s pretty special. These awards are earned, and are something that I do not take for granted.

Have you received any advice over your swimming career so far that has stuck with you?

When I was at university in Loughborough, my training partner and lifelong friend, Felix Auboeck from Austria, said to me that I need to try as hard as possible every single day to see the results. My approach is a relentless pursuit of excellence, day in and day out, chasing my goals.

Do you have any favourite sports to watch, and how do you like to spend your free time?

I love to watch golf in my free time, and I like to play golf. I have just started playing and I am getting better. It is another one of the challenges that I have set myself, but swimming comes first.

You run the Wiffen Twins YouTube channel with your twin brother Nathan; what do you enjoy about filming videos and how did the idea come about to create the channel?

The YouTube channel started out as a way of documenting my life to show my parents and friends what I was doing when I was travelling and away from home. What started out as a fun experience has now grown to over 100k followers.

It is now a medium that my twin brother Nathan and I can share insights into how we train to inspire the next generation of athletes.

How is it seeing the fan response to your content, and what is it like having Nathan alongside you in the sport?

It is amazing to see all the comments we get on the YouTube videos from all the different people around the world who say they are inspired by the content, and training alongside my brother, who is one of the best in the world too. We see the comments on the videos, and this gives us a real sense of pride and we want to continue to engage with our fans and create better and better content. My partners are now actively supporting the channel, and this allows us to generate even better content and reach a wider audience.

Apart from the Commonwealth Games, do you have any further competitions coming up that you can tell us about, or that you are targeting?

After the Commonwealth Games, I have the European Swimming Championships, which I have only ever attended once, when I was very young. This is the first time that I can actually attend this competition and contend for the medals.

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