In a thrilling victory at the Paris Olympics, Daniel Wiffen secured a historic first gold medal for Ireland in the men’s 800 metres freestyle final. Despite trailing behind Gregorio Paltrineri of Italy with only 50m remaining, Wiffen managed to overtake his rival and then successfully fend off a late push from the United States’ Bobby Finke, topping him by a mere 0.56 seconds.
Wiffen, a global champion from last February, was triumphant with an unparalleled Olympic time of seven minutes and 38.19 seconds, while Finke and Paltrineri gained silver and bronze respectively. Tokyo 2020 had seen the reinstatement of this men’s event, happening for the first time since 1904. Wiffen had unfortunately missed the finals in Tokyo, however, in Paris he made his formidable presence known by achieving the swiftest qualifying time on the preceding Monday.
Having secured a lead briefly before midway, the 23-year-old later conceded it to Paltrineri. Nevertheless, Wiffen, only trailing by 0.1 seconds, had plentiful energy reserves to launch a final powerful resurgence. Finke also tried a comeback, but Wiffen expertly paced the race, keeping his lead just sufficient to quell the American.
Talking about his historic achievement, he expressed his feeling of exhilaration and relief.“Nobody sincerely thought I could pull it off, but it was an astonishing experience. I was wrought with nerves, but hearing my brother’s cheer for me as I walked out really helped to calm and focus me,” he shared.
In the rowing realm, both Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch surpassed the United States and New Zealand, hence securing their spot in the men’s doubles final. Their impressive timing of 6:13.14 seeds them at the top for the forthcoming final scheduled for Thursday morning.
In the women’s doubles event, Zoe Hyde and Alison Bergin were unable to secure a place in the A final, after finishing fifth in the semi-finals on Tuesday. Their next competition will be the B final on Thursday morning, which will determine their final ranking.
The last to compete for the Irish team was Emily Hegarty, Natalie Long, Eimear Lambe, and Imogen Magner, who unfortunately did not secure a place in the finals. They finished fourth in the women’s four repechages. Like the women’s doubles, they will compete again on Thursday to finalise their ranking.
In other games, the men’s hockey team suffered another loss, significantly hindering their chances to qualify for the quarter-finals. Their 2-0 defeat by India, who are leading Pool B, adds to their prior losses against Belgium and Australia. Now at the bottom of Pool B with no points, they are slated to play against Argentina on Thursday.
Following the loss, team captain, Seán Murray expressed his frustration with the outcome but remains hopefully for the remaining games.
Meanwhile, in boxing, Jennifer Lehane was defeated 5-0 in her last 16 fight against Yuan Chang from China who won with unanimous decisions on all rounds. Despite feeling that she improved in the second round, Lehane admitted that Chang was the superior player that day.
In equestrian news, Abigail Lyle, debuting at the olympics, came sixth in her group in the dressage individual grand prix. Although Lyle and Giraldo, her steed scored 69.411, it was not enough to advance to Sunday’s final in the Canoe slalom category.
In the men’s solo kayak heats, Noel Hendrick secured the 19th spot after undergoing two runs, qualifying himself for the semi-final taking place on Thursday. The 26-year-old outdid his initial round of 98.64, finishing in 90.68.
Meanwhile, in the women’s C1 slalom, Michaela Corcoran came 21st, registering times of 129.55 and 168.08 for the first and second runs respectively.
Onto sailing, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove came back into play in the men’s skiff competition, showing prowess on the water. The twosome landed fourth position in the day’s opting race and then finished 13th and 9th in races eight and nine. Today’s outcomes place them second overall with a total of 67 points, closely following the leading Spanish duo of Diego Botin le Chever and Florian Trittel Paul.
Badminton player Rachael Darragh suffered an initial loss in Group L of the women’s singles against Jenjira Sui Stadelmann of Switzerland. Darragh managed to win the first game 21-12, but was closely defeated 22-24 in the second game. Her competitor then sealed her victory with a clear 15-21 win in the final game.
As for the Rugby Sevens, Ireland ended their first Olympic venture in the eighth position after enduring losses to both France and Great Britain on the concluding day of the tournament at Stade de France. Allan Temple-Jones’ team can be proud of their inaugural performance at the Games, marking their first appearance at Paris 2024. However, consecutive losses in the placing matches means they leave while nursing disappointment. They suffered a slim defeat to France, with a score of 19-7 in the fifth-place semi-final, and also fell short against Great Britain 28-12, ending in the eighth position overall.