PARIS – For Daniel Wiffen, it was the beginning of his open water career.
And, in all likelihood, the ending.
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The star of Olympic swimming for Ireland after winning a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 1,500 free, Wiffen dove into the Seine River on a breezy Friday morning to try something different.
The rough-and-tumble world of open water.
“I’d say the start was pretty bad when I got punched in the face,” Wiffen said, flashing a grin. “I got hit in the head three times. Somebody kicked me in the stomach. I think I pulled my groin halfway through. And then, in terms of the last lap, I was just absolutely dead. That was the worst thing.”
Wiffen finished 18th — nearly 6 1/2 minutes behind gold medalist Kristóf Rasovszky of Hungary — in a 10-kilometer race he knew he had no chance of winning as a complete neophyte.
His goal, essentially, was to finish.
“It’s a new experience to me,” Wiffen said. “I’ve never even swam 10,000 meters straight before in my life in the pool. So to do that in a race, I mean, I’m pretty proud of myself. It was a pretty hard thing to do. I’ve got big respect for everybody who does this as a specialist.”
Wiffen called himself “one and done” as an open water swimmer after what he described as the “worst damn best thing I’ve ever done in my life."
“The reason why it was the worst is because it’s the most painful thing I’ve ever done. But in terms of best, I’m happy to say that I’m an Olympic open water swimmer, dual-sport athlete and a contact-sport athlete now as well," he said, smiling all the way through his rather convoluted reasoning.
Few athletes enjoyed their Olympic experience as much as Wiffen, who became Ireland's first swimming gold medalist since 1996.
He held court several times in the mixed zone, bantering playfully with the media and making a pitch for more followers to his YouTube channel. He seemed to thoroughly relish the idea of becoming a sporting hero in his homeland while inspiring others to follow his lead.
But there were more immediate plans after wrapping up his final race in Paris.
“Well, right now, I’m going to go party for three days,” Wiffen said.
After that, he'll return to Dublin for the homecoming Monday of the Irish Olympic team — “I’ll be on the open-top bus going around,” he promised — followed by an extended vacation that will includes stops in Barcelona and Bali, Italy.
“I’m going all over basically on a big travel, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Wiffen said.
Then it's back to work. He plans to compete at the world championships in Singapore next summer, looking to defend the 800 and 1,500 free titles he won at the February championships in Doha, Qatar. That was the meet where Wiffen first served notice of the Olympic success to come.
“I mean, my neck is a little bit sore from all those medals that I’ve got,” he quipped, sounding more playful that boasting.
One thing that's not in his plans: another open water race.
Wiffen couched his retirement announcement ever so slightly, saying “never say never.” But he's pretty sure this was it.
“It will be my last race,” Wiffen said. “But I love watching open water, and I think it’s a great sport. And to be honest, I think it could get a lot better. It's gonna keep progressing and progressing. It’s gonna become like one of the best sports at the Olympics.”
He just won't be a part of it.
His future lies at the pool.
“I’m amazed for myself,” Wiffen said. “I set my sights on becoming an Olympic champion, and I did that.”
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games