Daniel Wiffen's family reacts to Olympic gold: It is 'lovely to say you're the mum of an Olympian'

Daniel Wiffen celebrates after winning the men's 800-meter freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Picture: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader

Olympic gold medalist Daniel Wiffen's mother has said it is “lovely to say you’re the mum of an Olympian.” 

Speaking in the wake of her son's record-breaking swim in the final of the men’s 800m freestyle on Tuesday evening, Rachel Wiffen admitted her whole family is "over the moon" Daniel's achievement. 

Ms Wiffen said her family had spent the night celebrating the staff from Swim Ireland and awoke this morning to dozens of messages of congratulations from family, friends and acquaintances. 

“We’re only getting to see them now, so it’s making me very emotional,” added Ms Wiffen.

Asked whether she was nervous watching her son's race, Ms Wiffen said the family had been “quite calm” throughout. That said, she admitted to having “a bit of a wobble” around the halfway mark of the race, unsure how the rest of the race was going to go.

She said the last race of Daniel's she and her husband had attended was his dominant World Championships performance Doha. 

“As a parent, that's the best position to be in, because you just know when they're that far in front, it's definitely going to be a win.” 

As for Tuesday's final, she said she would have been happy "with a medal of any colour" but that she knew her son was going for the gold. 

He was quite clear in his interviews that he wanted gold. You don’t go into a race to lose.

She also said it had been a very special moment when Sarah Kane of Swim Ireland presented the medal to Daniel. 

Team Ireland swimmer Victoria Catterson, centre, cheers on the men's 800m freestyle gold medallist Daniel Wiffen of Team Ireland before the award ceremony at the Paris La Défense Arena during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

“She turned around and gave us a big wave. So that was a very special moment, too, for her. Daniel, the family," she told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.

Earlier on the same programme, the principal of St Patrick’s Grammar School in Armagh said past pupil Daniel Wiffen's spectacular win was the culmination of a remarkable few days which also saw seven other past pupils All Ireland senior football medals with Armagh.

“Sport plays a very, very big part in the school. And this is definitely a big, big lift for the whole school community and in the city and all around. So we're over the moon. We're very, very happy,” Dominic Clarke said.

Noting that in an interview for the school a few years back Daniel and his brother Nathan had stated that it was their ambition to compete in the Olympics, he said Daniel's victory was a “just reward” for all the efforts the siblings had put in since they were teenagers.

“I look forward to digging that interview out again to present that to the two boys because now here we are. A new reality has set in. And not only is Daniel Olympic champion, he's also Olympic record holder. And as he said himself, there's more to come." he said. 

Mr Clarke added that the entire community around St Patrick's were "very, very, very proud" of Daniel and his family. 

The Wiffen brothers had been very diligent in their swim training and had also applied themselves to their studies, he said. 

"They had a 5am start every day and by the time they arrived at school they had already been up for four hours."