Daniel Wiffen has already taken the pool swimming world by storm with his two unprecedented victories at the 2024 World Aquatics World Championship, winning the 800m freestyle in 7:40.94 and the 1500m freestyle in 14:34.07.
After his 800m victory over Gregorio Paltrinieri, himself an Olympic medalist in both the pool and open water, Wiffen said, “It was just really trying to build the confidence in myself, make sure I can trust it and execute my own race plan. That’s what I did. I’m very happy.”
He also beat marathon swimming champion Florian Wellbrock of Germany in the 1500m freestyle a few days later at the 2024 championships in Doha.
His two gold medals was a step up from the 2023 World Championships where Wiffen had finished fourth, out of the podium positions, in both the 800m and 1500m races.
But Wiffen thinks outside the traditional pool swimmer mindset.
At the 2024 World Championships, the dual British-Irish citizen not only won two gold medals in the distance freestyle events, but he also competed in the 50m freestyle, a highly unusual race for a world-class distance freestyler.
Now Wiffen is about to take on the open water world – possibly by storm.
Although the Loughborough University student qualified to compete in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, he has decided to forego the 400m freestyle and stick around the Olympic Village for the second week of the Olympics and instead compete in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in the Seine River.
As a double world champion this year, Wiffen is currently riding a lot of momentum. He has speed, stamina, and confidence. He has already beaten his primary competitors – Wellbrock and Paltrinieri in the pool – and is now looking to do the same in the open water.
With these three diving into the Seine, although with other potential medal favorites from Kristóf Rasovszky of Hungary to Marc-Antoine Olivier and Logan Fontaine of France, and Domenico Acerenza of Italy.
Punishing Pace and Physicality
“The race will be blazing fast, from start to finish,” predicts Steven Munatones. “Daniel just moved the bar upwards and faster. These are the finest and most fit distance freestylers in the world – bar none. They will push each other like nothing we have ever seen before in the sport of swimming – either pool or open water. I cannot wait to watch these men – who are so familiar with the discomfort of pushing themselves all-out for so many hours in the pool – race 10,000 hard, punishing meters in the Seine. Their pace will be incredibly fast – especially at the start and they will undoubtedly smash into each other around the turn buoys and along the feeding pontoons. The physicality at times…the intensity throughout…and the final sprint to the finish will be off the charts exciting. It will undoubtedly be a race to remember.
Ireland is already a hotbed of ice swimming, winter swimming, open water swimming, marathon swimming, and channel swimming, but now Daniel’s effort in the 10 km marathon swim will have a longer term and an even more profound impact on Ireland. Daniel will be followed by many more people who will become new fans of the competitive open water swimming – while he also inspires many younger swimmers – and older swimmers alike – along his Olympic journey.”
30 Marathon Swim Entrants
With the various ways to qualify for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Paris, there are reportedly at least 30 men who will enter the marathon swim on August 9th. This shows the growing popularity of the sport – and the belief of the elite distance freestylers that they can be competitive in a loop course on the Seine.
The Case of Grant Hackett in 2008
Will history repeat itself – or will it turn a different page?
At the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships, teammates, swimming fans and prognosticators were shocked when world and Olympic 1500m champion Grant Hackett did not qualify for the Olympic 10km Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Hackett had everything you could imagine in an open water swimmer: proven sprinting speed (with a best time of 1:46 in the 200m freestyle), endurance (with a best time of 14:34 in the 1500m freestyle), size (with a 198 cm or 6′-6″ frame), a supportive federation, pedigree (he was a Australian distance freestyler), and ocean swimming experience.
But he was caught in the middle of the pack and in the heat of the battle, he was disqualified and never made it to the marathon swim in Beijing. It was a tough blow for such an outstanding athlete and swimming ambassador.
See story from 2008 here – or below.
Mellouli Double
One of these men – Wiffen, Wellbrock, and Paltrinieri – or perhaps all three – have the very real possibility to achieve the Mellouli Double. That is, winning an Olympic medal in both the pool and open water at the same Olympic Games.
But only one will become the marathon swimming Olympic champion.
August 9th. In the Seine. Watch and behold.
Follow @WiffenTwins
For more information about the 22-year-old, visit www.danielwiffenswimming.com or his YouTube Channel with his identical twin brother, Nathan at @WiffenTwins.
2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships
When the IOC agreed to add the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in 2005, one of the most celebrated and accomplished swimmers in the world at that time was famed Australian distance freestyler Grant Hackett.
The world record holder and Olympic champion from Australia surprised the open water swimming community when he announced that he would compete for one of the 25 marathon swimming spots at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He not only struck fear in the hearts of his open water swimming competitors, but also very importantly shown a bright light and gave legitimacy to the inaugural marathon swimming event.
Hackett started his Olympic open water journey at the 2008 Australian World Championship Trials [photo shown above] where he qualified to represent his country together with teammate Ky Hurst.
In Seville, Spain at the 2008 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships which served as the first Olympic qualification race, Hacket and Hurst swam their own race and were in the lead pack throughout the qualification race.
The mad sprint to the finish line at the end of the race by the top 15 swimmers was too jammed for the naked eye to determined who had qualified in the Top 10.
However, when the disqualification of Hackett, the Olympic double gold medalist in the 1500m freestyle, was announced, there were loud grasps from the crowd.
Steven Munatones recalled, “The shock and disappointment were visible everywhere. The new and emerging sport of open water swimming had disqualified one of the most popular and respected icons in swimming. But Hackett was disqualified because he committed two separate infractions of the FINA open water swimming rules.”
At the time, Munatones wrote for Swimming World Magazine, “One hour and 24 minutes into the race when there were still 45 men swimming over one another in the lead pack, Hackett was given a yellow card for impeding the progress of another swimmer during the third loop. Officially, he committed an infraction of FINA Rule 6.3.1 for interfering with another swimmer. After the infraction, a card bearing Hackett’s number of 35 was written by the Head Referee on a white paper and shown to the swimmers as an indication of a rule violation.
The second infraction was committed with less than 250 meters from the finish in the mad dash to the finish. Around the last turn buoy, there was a straightaway to the finish and it was anyone’s game to win and qualify for the Olympics – the dream of every swimmer in that lead pack of 15-20 men.
When the pace picked up with less than 1000 meters to go, Hackett was caught in the middle of the surging pack. With every stroke, unintentional collisions were made due to the close proximity of the swimmers to each other. As Hackett tried to create more space between himself and the swimmer alongside him, he apparently slowed down and tried deliberately to go over the back of Chip Peterson’s legs. Apparently, the degree of separation between Hackett and Peterson was not enough. Unfortunately for both swimmers, Hackett swam over Peterson in a manner that three referees believed impeded the progress of Peterson.
With the second violation, a red flag was raised and Hackett’s goal for competing in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim was over – although Hackett – and the crowd – did not realize that during the race.”
“It is unfortunate that any swimmer is disqualified, but in my opinion, the Head Referee gave the correct decision,” explained Sid Cassidy, the then chairman of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee. “The call was confirmed by both Assistant Referees who were also in very close proximity to the infraction. All the referees are experienced international referees.”
The disqualification was protested by the Australian team, but the protest was ultimately rejected and the official results were issued.
The disqualification did not directly affect the athletes who earned the available spots in Beijing. Hurst who tied for fifth was ahead of both Hackett and Peterson at the time of the infraction and it was clear that Hurst was going to finish in the top ten. With Hurst’s top ten finish, Hackett had to finish in the top ten to earn a Olympic 10 km spot in Beijing. Hackett could enter the second qualifying race in Beijing held later for the same reason (i.e., Hurst getting into the top 10 in Seville). It was estimated that Hackett was in 15th position at the time.
Being the gentlemen sportsman that he is, Hackett later told the Sydney Morning Herald that “I just did not have it in the legs in the end and the decision not to compromise my pool program was a risk you take and in the end I was only two body lengths off the top ten. That is how close it is. But I am going to hold my head up and move on and get back and prepare for the pool program.”
In the pool, Hackett ended up finishing 6th in the 400m freestyle (3:43.84), winning a silver medal in the 1500m freestyle (14:41.53), and a bronze in the 4×200 m freestyle in Beijing.
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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