Daniel Wiffen’s elucidation on the fundamental causes of his astounding victory in winning his inaugural Olympic swimming gold medal in the Parisian region just this past week indeed stuns us. Born coincidentally on Bastille Day, this event followed a mere couple of days’ gap after the Armagh county, his birthplace, cinched the All-Ireland football championship, marking a rare second win in their 140-year record. He found himself in Paris, coinciding with the city where Ireland made its debut as an independent participant in the 1924 Games, a hundred years previous.
An unprecedented thunderstorm erupted over the city’s skyline, almost predatory in its fury, just an hour preceding his 800m freestyle final lap in the Paris La Défense Arena. “‘Storm Daniel’, that’s what we’re calling it,” remarked Wiffen in jest post-game, clad in his honourable medal of victory.
Yet another noteworthy penultimate centennial was overlooked. It was exactly 100 years after Jack B Yeats, the sibling of William, earned his silver accolade in the Parisian games, notable for awarding artistic works influenced by sporting themes, with his poignant ‘The Liffey Swim’ artwork.
Despite the wrinkle in time and corresponding events that seemingly favoured Wiffen’s winning spree, Irish swimming does not revolve around these coincidental flutterings but finds its root in the tangible. The evident laurel victories of Wiffen and Mona McSharry, the latter acing the 100m breaststroke event just a day prior, promise a brighter horizon for Irish swimming.
Wiffen, admittedly more efficient in the 1,500m heat, dives back in Saturday, aiming to seize his next gold prospect in Sunday’s finale and potentially setting a record as Ireland’s first entrant in the 10km marathon swim, scheduled on the Seine.
Although Irish swimming has indeed scaled new heights in the last ten years, Paris still resonates with a tectonic paradigmic shift. It is unquestionable that the sport in the country has now eclipsed the dim state of affairs at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where a dismal opening report read, “An unforgettable day for Irish swimming here in the Olympic pool – none drowned.”
Olympic swimming in the country has morphed from Ireland playing the struggling islander in waters to a more prominent and success-accustomed contender.
As the high performance director of Swim Ireland since 2017, John Rudd has had an inside view of the drastic transformation of Irish swimming, particularly at the national training centres in Dublin and Limerick. The current situation in Paris is not, as Rudd asserts, the start of the journey but neither is it nearing the end. Leading the charge are swimmers like Wiffen and McSharry with many more in their wake.
Rudd characterises this era as one of a blossoming generation of swimmers carrying themselves confidently. A simple display of ‘Ireland’ at a swimming event now commands recognition. This, compared to a time when the Irish team would have hoped to sneak into a semi-final, shows the great strides taken by this group of athletes.
Nonetheless, Rudd recognises the continued importance of nurturing domestic swimming talent. It’s crucial not only to have large participant numbers but also to ensure they are skilled, well-coached and belong to adept clubs. Having a robust domestic competition structure is vital, feeding into junior international levels and ultimately, senior standards.
Previously, the only Irish swimmer to reach an Olympic final in the contemporary era was Michelle Smith de Bruin who did so at the Atlanta 1996 games, where she bagged three golds and one bronze. She was later banned from swimming owing to tampering with a urine sample during a doping test at her Kilkenny home. This remained a significant subject in Irish Olympic swimming circles until McSharry reached the 100m breaststroke final in Tokyo, becoming the second such swimmer.
With five days into the current Olympic swimming programme, Ireland is ranked sixth in the medals tally. Representing the most prolific start in Olympic history for Irish swimming, three finalists were already determined, including McSharry, Wiffen, and Ellen Walshe. Walshe reached the 400m medley final and clinched the eighth spot.
On the sixth day, Tom Hannon propelled himself to the forefront by breaking the Irish record in the 50m freestyle, achieving a time of 21.79 seconds; a feat formerly realised by Shane Ryan just a month prior. Hannon was ranked sixth in the semi-final qualifiers, already ensuring his status as Ireland’s frontrunner in this Olympic event. He later bettered his own record, recording a time of 21.74 seconds and finishing 10th in the race, just .10 seconds away from advancing to the final.
In the 800m, Wiffen achieved an Olympic and European personal best, making history in December as the inaugural Irish swimmer to shatter a world record, a feat that no other Irish swimmer had dared to attempt before.
However, more hurdles linger on the horizon. Currently, the entire island boasts just six 50-metre pools, with two located in the North and none in major cities such as Cork and Galway. The first was inaugurated in 2000 at the Westwood gym in Clontarf, and it wasn’t until 2002 that the National Aquatic Centre opened its doors in Abbotstown, fuelled by years of advocacy and completion funded by the Special Olympics 2003.
Former Plymouth teacher, Rudd, advocates for a swimming facility in every large population centre on the island, citing the skill as essential and likening its importance to that of literacy and numeracy skills. Rudd argues that many populated locations are devoid of accessible heated pools during winter, making swimming in open bodies of water unviable.
Rudd emphasises the collective responsibility of various agencies in making this reality, despite not having full ownership, and believes that educating and harnessing support from decision-makers is integral to the cause.
Currently, the country’s swim clubs are operating at full enrollment, often with lengthy waiting lists for prospective members. In September, Swim Ireland intends to release a new strategic plan, emphasising infrastructure as a priority for the first time.
Reflecting on the advancements made over the past two decades, one can see a sea change in Irish swimming since the Athens Olympics, when only two athletes, Michael Williamson and Emma Robinson, fulfilled the Olympic qualification criteria, but unfortunately, neither could move past the initial round. Between the Sydney and Tokyo Olympics, Ireland enlisted 21 swimmers for the Games, among whom only Andrew Bree and Shane Ryan were successful in proceeding beyond the heat stage.
Setting sights on the Paris Games, the Irish team comprises 12 swimmers and, notably, for the first time since 1972, includes two women’s relay teams. The ranks have been further bolstered by an additional two athletes qualifying in diving.
Taking into account the set-ups of successful swimmers Wiffen and McSharry, who train at respected English and American universities respectively, Rudd emphasises the importance of presenting similar opportunities within the Swim Ireland system. For Rudd, the crux lies in creating the right environment for athletes, irrespective of location. He cited McSharry excelling at an American university and Wiffen at an English institution as examples.
While there’s an inherent desire to have all athletes remain in Ireland, if diverse environments give them a nudge to push their limits further, these should be accommodated. Another essential focus is to ensure that all four provinces are on the same wavelength towards a coherent national approach. There is a sense of pride in a system that not only benefits athletes but also brings honour to the nation.