Daniel Wiffen ends California experiment as LA ambitions drive Dublin move

Daniel Wiffen and his twin brother Nathan have moved their training base from the University of California to Dublin after their six months in the States failed to deliver 

Daniel Wiffen: "I’d like to think I’m a guaranteed two-gold medallist for LA, so it makes it exciting for Ireland to have medal contenders in the national centre." Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

True to his word, Daniel Wiffen has ended his short-lived California experiment as he seeks the comfort of being challenged in more familiar surroundings.

A gold and bronze medallist in the Paris Olympics, Wiffen is targeting a two-gold haul in Los Angeles in 2028 and so, just six months after departing his Loughborough University base to join his twin Nathan at the University of California in Berkeley, they have both moved back to train out of the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin.

Daniel is being coached again by Steve Beckerleg and Andi Manley, his former mentors, while Swim Ireland's national performance director Andy Reid - who previously coached him in Lisburn - also supported the decision to come home.

The back-up plan was hatched with Reid when he was appointed into the new role, so that if it didn't work out in the States there would be a set-up ready to go in Blanchardstown.

But this isn't just about returning to old habits. The brothers are also working with a physiologist linked to the Quick-Step cycling team, bringing Tour de France expertise into their programme.

“We’ve been doing testing around VO2 max, race suit testing and different training methods,” said Wiffen. “I’m enjoying it so far and I feel a lot fitter.

“If the training goes in the right direction then I’ll probably have eyes on the world record in the summer."

The problem with Cal was that the training was too tame for his liking. The distractions that go with being on the west coast were also mentioned when he spoke before the recent Irish Open.

The 24-year-old promised to come back to Dublin if he didn't achieve the times he hoped for in Bangor. He was disappointed in that regard, despite bagging three titles.

"That was kind of the confirmation in my head that I wasn't in the shape that I wanted to be in," Wiffen, recalling how he reached the first mark in the 1500m a second off PB pace.

"I could just feel it fading and it was all down to the training. I just haven't been doing the right type of work I used to do."

Ultimately, the Stateside arrangement failed to meet expectations as he targets a successful defence of his 800m freestyle title and further podium finishes in LA, and so the brothers have returned. They will soon swap a hotel stay for rented accommodation just two minutes from Abbotstown.

“I’m looking at it as a permanent move,” Wiffen said. “I thought California would be too, but it didn’t work out. The plan now is to stay here until LA.

“We’ve got a good set-up here and me and Nathan coming back is quite big. I’d like to think I’m a guaranteed two-gold medallist for LA, so it makes it exciting for Ireland to have medal contenders in the national centre.

"When you were in California, you kind of didn’t know what you were doing in the session. There wasn’t much guidance and not many people criticising technique. It felt like they didn’t want to mess up the Olympic champion. They were trying to do what they wanted rather than what was good for me.

“It’s a laid-back lifestyle. In Loughborough if they said 7am dive in, everyone was in. In California people were sitting around poolside for 15 minutes.” 

Nathan’s return has also been a key factor, with Daniel crediting their ability to tell each other straight what has to be done to get better.

He believes the current set-up may even surpass the one that delivered Olympic gold in Paris in 2024.

“It’s like an improved version,” Wiffen claimed. “I’m doing the same work I was doing before, but at a better professional level. It’s a big ecosystem in one place and really similar to Loughborough.” 

The siblings are part of a record 26-strong Irish squad bound for the European Aquatics Championships in August, while Nathan will also compete in the Open Water event on the Seine the same month.

The team also includes Mona McSharry, John Shortt, Ellen Walshe, Danielle Hill and several emerging under-23 talents.

Jack Kelly, who secured all three breaststroke titles at the Irish Open, will make his senior Ireland debut on the European stage.

Also in August, Jake Passmore will be Ireland's representative in the European Diving Championships.

Ireland squad for European Aquatic Championships: Jacob Armon, Evan Bailey, Adam Bradley, Alana Burns-Atkin, Jack Cassin, Victoria Catterson, Eoin Corby, Lottie Cullen, Liam Custer, Grace Davison, Tom Fannon, Daniell Farrell, Conor Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Matthew Hamilton, Danielle Hill, Jack Kelly, Ellie McCartney, Mona McSharry, Denis O'Brien, Rosalie Phelan, Cormac Rynn, John Shortt, Ellen Walshe, Daniel Wiffen, Nathan Wiffen.