It was just under a year ago that Daniel Wiffen first spoke to Hot Press, as part of our ‘Hot For 2024’ issue. Fresh from securing Irish swimming’s first world record, the then-22-year-old from Co. Armagh was on the verge of a major transition – from a rising star in swimming circles, to a household name.

Seven months later, at the height of Olympic fever, he went further still, and graduated to bona fide Irish sporting hero – as he took home the 800m freestyle gold medal, and the 1500m freestyle bronze medal, at Paris 2024.

Looking back now, he admits that seeing the impact his “swimming at the Olympics had on the whole of Ireland” was “pretty wild…”

“When I came back home from the Olympics, I initially could not walk down my street without nearly every person stopping me,” he resumes. “I remember going down to Dublin, and I meant to stop to fill my car up just for two minutes – and it ended up being a 40-minute trip to Applegreen.”

While he took that newfound attention in his stride for the most part, he was still surprised to hear about a Daniel Wiffen impersonator – sporting a tricolour balaclava – taking to the stage at a KNEECAP gig in Bristol in November, while the crowd chanted his name…

“Apparently the person didn’t have a ticket to get in, and they just pretended to be me,” he says. “They thought they looked like me, and they brought a fake Olympic medal.”

As footage quickly spread online, Daniel issued a statement, denying reports that he was the man behind the balaclava.

“I don’t think many people have had an experience like that – where someone pretends to be them, to get into a concert,” he laughs. “I never had, anyway! I don’t think my agency had even had an experience like that before – it was a weird one to deal with!”

Although Daniel has built up a reputation as a natural showman – famously throwing up finger-guns, or his ‘W’ hand sign, when walking out to the pool – he tells me he relies on good friends to keep him grounded, and not let his "ego get too big..."

“I also had great training partners growing up, who I moulded myself on,” he says. “One of them was Felix [Auböck]. You wouldn’t expect he was World Champion, the way he behaved – he was so polite, and kind. So that’s what I wanted to be like, when I won all this stuff. I always wanted to make sure I’d be approachable, and a nice person.”

Olympics Homecoming at O'Connell Street. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Similarly, in the Olympic Village, he found that most of his fellow Olympians were "pretty nice" – and you could “go up and talk to anyone.”

“Obviously there are some athletes – like a lot of the big names in, say, athletics – who’d maybe be seen as a bit obnoxious,” he resumes. “But even then, I still think they’re pretty nice to talk to.

“Noah Lyles [the US star sprinter who won the 100m gold at Paris] comes across as quite obnoxious and loud – but I sat beside him in the barbers in the Village, getting our hair cut, and we were chatting away,” he adds. “And I think he spoke about me in an interview after his race. I haven’t seen it, but I was told by one of the media staff!”

There were countless milestone moments for Daniel in Paris – including becoming the first ever Irishman to win a swimming medal at an Olympic Games. But seeing his family – including his twin brother Nathan, a swimming star in his own right – from the podium after winning the 800m freestyle was something he’ll never forget.

“They were in tears,” he recalls. “I’ve never seen people so happy in my life. My family have sacrificed everything for me to be good at swimming. So that bit of joy in the La Défense Arena was a little part that I could give back to them.

“My mum quit her job to look after me and Nathan when we were swimming, to drive us to and from training,” he elaborates. “She basically gave up her own life to cater for mine and Nathan’s training needs. And my dad worked harder and harder to basically fund it. Swimming is not a cheap sport. You’ve got to pay a lot for camps and competitions to really get your children in the right place. And obviously me moving away to university is definitely not cheap! They’re great – I wouldn’t ask for any different parents.”

But Daniel reveals that his No.1 highlight of 2024 is actually a draw between that view from the stadium, and – somewhat surprisingly – the 10km Olympic swim in the Seine, in which he finished 18th, and was rushed to hospital with a bug soon after.

“That was a highlight, because I was doing it with my friends, and I was having fun – and I had already succeeded at the Olympics,” he explains. “And obviously being beside the Eiffel Tower, in the Seine – that was a bucket-list item.

“So the open-water was basically a fun race for me,” he adds. “I mean, I probably didn’t enjoy it for the two hours that I was doing it – but when I finished, and all my friends were on the finish-line together, and we got a photo, it was amazing.”

Getting sick afterwards, he tells me, “was kind of expected.”

“I mean, getting that badly ill wasn’t expected,” he acknowledges. “But I knew I was going to get ill at some stage – whether it was going to be as soon as I finished racing, or a week later. At this stage, I don’t really care that much anyway. I may have missed out on carrying the flag, but it’s not my last Olympics. I will be going to a couple more – so I can carry it then!”

Thankfully, he recovered in time for his big post-Olympics holiday – which he had booked a year in advance, confident in the fact he'd have plenty to celebrate.

“I got to do a lot of things that I’ve always wanted to do,” he says of his travels. “Like learning how to surf in Bali. I’m pretty good at that now, after doing a month of it.”

How did his coaches back home feel about him embracing a new sport?

“They didn’t care,” he claims. “My coach told me he didn’t want to hear from me for two months, because he wanted me to have a break. And that’s what I did. To be fair, surfing’s really good for swimming, because you’re doing a lot of paddling on the board. So I was already kind of good at it. There were a lot of professional surfers in Bali when I was there, and I was beating them to waves, just because I can paddle faster than them. Which is pretty cool!”

Another bucket-list moment was ticked off when Daniel, alongside his brother Nathan, got the chance to attend the Irish premiere of Gladiator II. It was a bit of a full circle moment for the twins, who dabbled in acting in their younger years – appearing in Game Of Thrones, among other series.

“Paul Mescal came over to me and Nathan, and we were chatting away,” he says of the red carpet. “He congratulated me for the Olympics – and I told him I was going to judge his swimming skills in the water scene in the movie…”

And?

“Well, he didn’t really get in, did he?” he laughs. “He was just on the boat. But I mean, fair play to him to be able to get on a boat with a load of great white sharks…”

The Irish Premiere of Gladiator II in the Light House Cinema. Copyright MIguel Ruiz.

So – for a Hot Press Annual special – what was Daniel Wiffen's top movie of 2024?

“I’ve actually got a list on my phone of what I ranked my favourite movies,” he tells me. “All of my friends rated Gladiator II a 9/10, but I’d give it 10/10, because of that experience.

“But you know what, I think my favourite movie was Twisters, the remake,” he adds. “I loved that. That movie was great – and the music. I’m a country fan!”

Post Malone was also on rotation in his car the last time he spoke to Hot Press – but his top music highlight of 2024, he reveals, would have to be TikToker-turned-pop-punk star jxdn.

"I’ve only ever been to one concert in my life, and it was his, in October," Daniel enthuses. "He was doing a tour for his album, When The Music Stops, and it was insane. I’ve never loved an experience more than that. I really like that genre – and he does a lot with Machine Gun Kelly. But his main hit’s called ‘Angels & Demons’ – that’s the best one.”

Gigs, he admits, don’t usually fit in with a demanding training schedule.

“It’s because they’re always late at night, and I know I’ve got to be up early in the morning,” he points out. “And they’re normally in London – and not where I train in Loughborough. But I’m happy I got to experience that, because I’ve always wanted to go to a music concert. I finally got to achieve my dream, and I went to an amazing one.”

Upon returning to Loughborough University in England, where he both trains and studies Computer Science, he was conscious of easing himself back into swimming – and as such, decided not compete in the recent short-course World Championships in Budapest in December.

“To be honest, I feel like I haven’t actually lost that much fitness from the time I took off,” he says. “It was more that I lost the feel of the water. That’s always hard to get back.”

He also had to readapt to the strict schedule he’d been following for the four years leading up to Paris 2024.

“Getting back into that routine of waking up early in the morning was probably the hardest part,” he acknowledges. “It took me about six weeks to fully invest back into getting in the routine. But I’ve been loving being back, and training fast now with my training partners."

At this stage, Daniel feels he's "moved on from the Olympics now" – and is ready to hit his next goals, and "get even better."

But he's still proud to see how he and his fellow Irish Olympic swimmers, including bronze medalist Mona McSharry, have raised their sport’s profile right across the country.

“Swimming’s just going up and up,” he reflects. “We are the No.1 sport – we got the most medals, and we had a lot of finals and semifinals too. To have a man and a woman with medals in one sport in one Olympics is kind of crazy.

“I really hope now that we see spectators coming to our trials in Dublin in April,” he continues. “I’ll be there, racing my brother – so I’d recommend people go watch that one! I’d like to see more people watching swimming in general, because it’s a great sport, and it’s actually very entertaining to go and watch.”

10 December 2023; Daniel Wiffen of Ireland celebrates his victory in the Men's 800m Freestyle, setting a new world record of 7:20.46, during day six of the European Short Course Swimming Championships 2023 at the Aquatics Complex in Otopeni, Romania. Photo by Nikola Krstic/Sportsfile

Of course, as the reigning World Champion in both the 800m and 1500m freestyle, Daniel's central focus of 2025 will be the World Championships in Singapore, kicking off in July.

“We have just under three-and-a-half years until the next Olympics, so we have a few of these kinds of stepping stones,” he notes. “From Tokyo to Paris, it was very easy – because it was a mission to become an Olympic champion. This mission is to keep winning, and win the Olympics in L.A. And not just one medal – we want a lot.

“So this Singapore World Championships is the first major competition coming up,” he adds. “I want to defend both my World Championship titles, and I don’t want to lose them for four years. I want to be the World Champion from 2024 to 2028 – and maybe even beyond that. That’s my goal: to stay undefeated.”

The 2025 Irish Open Championships take place from April 12–16, and The 2025 World Aquatics Championships take place in Singapore from July 11–August 3.