In the sporting history of Ireland, an era-defining night unfolded. Bearing an aura of anxiety, yet, optimism, both Gráinne Murphy and Joanne Cantwell sensed the significance of the upcoming events. While the apprehension was tangible, the Irish were typically careful to avoid overexcitement
The historical night fulfilled the anticipation when it turned out to be unforgettable and strikingly golden. National heroes like O’Connell, O’Donnell, and the more recent Wiffen have been the beacon of our nation’s achievements. Yet, none of them claimed victory in an Olympic swimming pool, an accolade that exclusively belonged to the latter.
Andrew Bree was confident about Wiffen’s exceptional performance, equating his forthcoming appearance to the spectacle of Russell Crowe’s Roman gladiator’s entrance. Andrew’s excitement following Wiffen’s excellent race was justified, but he admitted, jokingly, to almost losing consciousness from the thrill.
The spectators were given a heads-up by John Kenny about Wiffen’s gradual progression in the early stages of the swimming race. Indeed, our athlete looked initially leisurely as competitors like Elijah Winnington and Ahmed Jaqouadi took the lead. However, the worry subsided when Wiffen started to make a comeback, eventually securing the top spot by the race’s midpoint.
John’s inexplicable warning about the Italian swimmer Paltrinieri and his misjudged concern for the competitor Finke added to the spectators’ nerves. However, as the race unfolded, it was clear that these perceived threats posed no challenge to Wiffen. Despite some brief alarms when Paltrinieri overtook Wiffen and Finke threatened his hard-earned position, Wiffen’s performance remained stellar.
Subsequently, this fella is quite a character. He sauntered into the stadium as if he were off for a leisurely walk in the nearest green, his identical twin, Nathan, assured Clare MacNamara before the race that he’d remain cool and collected. Remarkably, they are the spitting image of one another, a fact most will remember from their appearance on The Late Late Show. “You wouldn’t know it, but I might actually be Nathan,” joked Daniel to Patrick Kielty. It might leave one pondering whether Nathan was in the waters whilst Daniel cheered from the audience.
The final few lengths of the pool? Stupendous doesn’t quite capture it – Wiffen’s performance was legendary, astoundingly excellent.
“We just saw something extraordinary,” Joanne exclaimed, Gráinne chuckling in disbelief at the spectacle, whilst Andrew buried his face in his hands. “What just happened?” he wondered aloud. Joanne recalled how he spent the final moments of that race slapping his and Gráinne’s thighs in astonishment.
He thought the gold had slipped through their fingers, yet with about 125 metres to go, Wiffen rebounded off the wall and sped away. It encapsulated the conclusion of the race perfectly. “It was,” Gráinne added, “the perfect race”, though our racing pulses might contradict that notion.
When Wiffen gave his post-race interview to RTÉ, he was unruffled, seeming utterly confident in his abilities to pull off this feat. “Today, I proved I’m one of the greatest,” he announced, his smile gentle yet assured.
“Even our make-up artist was struck by his confidence,” Andrew shared a lighter note, “She said she’d never met someone so self-assured.”
Next came the medal ceremony. The playing of the Irish National Anthem is not a common event at these Olympic celebrations, so John was clearly fibbing when he claimed that he wasn’t moved to tears. Most of us were weeping buckets, even Wiffen himself. Entering the pool, he might have known he had the win in him, but when the reality hit, he too was overcome with emotion. Truly magical.