DANIEL WIFFEN has revealed why he is willing to snub a potential $50,000 cash bonanza to set world records at home.
Wiffen will be the star attraction at the Irish Open Swimming Championships and World Trials later this month at the National Aquatic Centre.
The double Olympic medalist is bidding to set a world record in at least one of the three events – 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle – in which he will compete alongside his twin brother.
If he was to set a new global best at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore in the summer, it would land him the cash prize worth around €46,000.
There will be no such reward on offer in Dublin but that will not stop Wiffen from trying to drive new standards.
Wiffen said: “The other day, somebody was asking me why I would try to break the world record at the Irish Championships and not the World Championships where I can make 50k when I can make nothing at the Irish Champs.
“My answer to that was that the last time I swam fast in Ireland was at the Under-23 Championships but the actual proper Irish Championships was 2021 for the Tokyo trials.
“So I have not swam a fast time in Ireland or a tapered race in Ireland in a very long time and that’s why I want to try to break this record in front of a home crowd.
“That’s what inspires me, inspiring the country. That’s what I am living by at the moment.
“I can’t tell you which event it is going to be in because I think it could be quite close in all three I’m doing but we’ll see.
“If I say I’ll go and get it and I miss it by 0.2, I’ll just get it the next time. I’m 23 years old.
“I’ve got at least another two Olympics to go and I’m sure I’m not going to break just one world record in my lifetime, I’m going to try for multiple.”
He has decided against a move to Italy but, in the summer, will decide whether he can benefit from leaving Loughborough for California – where Nathan is going to base himself – in the build-up to the LA Games.
For now, he is enjoying seeing the impact his gold and bronze medal from Paris is having on his sport at home, in terms of funding, participation and profile.
He said: “I get messages on Instagram every day telling me, ‘I’m swimming today because I watched Daniel Wiffen’s 800 freestyle win at the Olympics again this morning’, stuff like that.
“That’s kind of special, and then I see it in my swimming clinics. I’m doing one straight after the trials, three days after on the 19th, and they are selling out instantly.
“It’s great because I am trying to share what I’ve learned over the years, trying to pass it onto the parents, and the younger swimmers. My parents are also there so if the parents have any questions they can go to them, which is great.
“I wasn’t a great junior swimmer, I wasn’t winning any medals. I placed 18th at the world junior competition.
“I wasn’t in the top 400 in the world when I went to Loughborough. That resonates with a lot of Irish swimmers, a lot of them are not that highly-ranked at junior level.
“I am the first person ever in swimming to win an Olympic medal who didn’t place in top eight in a junior competition in any country.”
Post-Paris he took two months off, much of which was spent surfing, and decided against competing in the World Short-Course Championships in December when he realised he had too much ground to make up.
But he is taking more control of his training regime which includes recognising the importance of time away from the pool.
He said: “The old coaching way, that’s like you should never miss a day of training. I honestly think that’s wrong.
“Me taking two months or a Saturday off is proven to be more beneficial for me in terms of staying competitive and training faster.”
The Irish Open Swimming Championships run from April 12 to 16 at the National Aquatic Centre. Tickets for each evening are just €5 plus handling fee and available for purchase here https://eventmaster.ie/event/w14etPySRQ
