Daniel Wiffen breaks Irish 800m freestyle record to reach World Championship final

Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen broke the national 800m freestyle record to qualify for the final at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest.

Swimming in the third heat, Wiffen clocked 7:46.32, knocking over four seconds off his own record of 7:50.74, that was set in April.

The 20-year-old finished in fourth place in the heat, behind Olympic bronze medallist Mykhyalo Romanchuk of Ukraine, Tokyo 2020 10K open water champion and 1500m bronze medallist Florian Wellbrock (Germany) and third placed Olympic, world and European medallist Gabriele Detti of Italy, who came in .24 of a second ahead.

Wiffen, who swims at Loughborough University, had a nervous ten-minute wait to see if he had made the final, but only one swimmer, qualifying him in fifth place overall.

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The 800m freestyle final will take place on Tuesday, 21st June at 5.02pm.