'Back-to-back world titles would top Olympic gold'

Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen believes that winning back-to-back World Championship titles would mean much to him than his golden badge from Paris.

In a stunning 2024, Team Ireland swimmer Wiffen claimed a 1500m and 800m freestyle double astatine nan World Championships and won a historical golden badge successful nan 800m astatine nan Paris Olympics.

The 23-year-old besides won a bronze badge successful nan 1500m astatine nan Games.

"Everyone says nan hardest point to do is to triumph a World Championships aft an Olympics, and I'm up for nan challenge," Wiffen told BBC Sport NI successful anticipation of this year's World Championships successful Singapore.

"I deliberation winning back-to-back World Championships is going to beryllium amended than winning nan Olympics for me."

By winning his golden badge successful Paris, Wiffen became nan first jock from Northern Ireland to declare Olympic golden successful 36 years.

He will look to replicate that shape erstwhile he heads to nan World Aquatics Championships successful Singapore, which return spot from 11 July to 3 August.

After a aureate 2024, Wiffen says he wants to adhd to his winning bequest and that has fixed him added information heading to nan Worlds.

"For me, nan Olympics is what everyone watches. If you tin triumph consecutively complete nan adjacent number of years past it becomes bigger than conscionable winning an Olympics.," he added.

"It becomes astir being really galore times tin you triumph earlier you lose? Then you get to nan constituent wherever you support striving for that excellence.

"You're trying to spell bigger and bigger and you are bringing nan curiosity of 'what happens if I do support winning?' aliases 'what happens if I lose?'.

"You past usage that mindset of 'if I suffer present past it's not going to spell very well', and that motivates you moreover further to support winning. That's what I americium looking guardant to."

After nan Worlds, Wiffen will move his training guidelines backmost to Ireland aft a number of years studying and swimming astatine Loughborough University.

He will divided his clip betwixt Dublin and America, wherever his copy Nathan will move to astatine nan University of California later successful nan year, arsenic he builds towards nan adjacent Olympics successful Los Angeles successful 2028.

The move will besides mean nan extremity of his successful business pinch coach Andi Manley, and Wiffen says he is undecided connected who he will activity pinch successful nan adjacent shape of his career.

But for now his attraction is connected nan World Championships, wherever he will adhd nan 400 metre freestyle to nan longer-distance 800m and 1500m.

Wiffen vanished seventh successful nan 400m last successful Doha earlier winning his 2 titles, admitting that "sparked thing successful me".

"I don't want to travel successful seventh place, I want to win. I'm adding it backmost in, I'm going to effort and amended seventh spot arsenic my goal.

"We'll spot really it goes. I'm hoping for a badge successful it. It will beryllium reliable having now swam it for a twelvemonth but I'm looking guardant to it and nan challenge."

He added that nan 400m would beryllium treated arsenic a "warm-up" for nan longer events, but he is still aiming for a podium finish.

"This is going to sound weird because I effort and dainty nan 400m arsenic a warm-up. Even though I want a badge successful it, we're talking astir trying to get that aquatics retired of nan measurement earlier nan 800m.

"Sometimes you request that start-up title to person a really bully title successful your 2nd one. For nan 400m, it's a warm-up title but I will springiness it nan in installments and I americium trying to triumph a medal."