DANIEL WIFFEN signalled he was going to write his name into the history books – and then did just that.
Wiffen became the first Irish male swimmer to win a medal at the Olympics and did it in style too, taking gold in the 800m freestyle in a new Games record.
He held off the challenge of Bobby Finke – 800m and 1,500m champion in Tokyo – and Rio 1,500m gold medalist Gregorio Paltrineri.
But that should have come as no surprise as anyone who watched his walkout as he mimed scribbling in a book as he signalled what he was going to do.
Wiffen said: “I know everybody loves to see my walk-outs. I wrote my name in the history books on my walk-out, and I definitely backed it up with my swim in the pool.
“What can I say? It’s just amazing. I did tell everybody I was going to do it before, so it’s just good to see it on paper.
“I’m just stuck for words because it’s such a big achievement for me.
“I’ve dreamed of this every day of my life and I know that I seem very confident on the outside, but, you know, there’s always a little percentage of you thinking, ‘Can I do this?’
“And I did wake up this morning and think it. And then I went in for a little session with our performance director, Jon Rudd.
“And I’ve said to him, I’m going to try to hit 1:02 here.
“I went 101.1 I was like, ‘it’s done, we’ve won.”
OFI President and Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane was part of the presentation team for the medal ceremony which Wiffen said the moment even better.
The 23-year-old welled up when Amhrán na bhFiann was played and the tricolour raised at La Défense Arena.
And he said: “I don’t normally cry, so I was really hoping nobody was going to see that. But it did come out of me, and it’s obviously just a special moment.
“I never heard that national anthem at an Olympics before, and it’s just crazy to say it was me standing on the No 1 podium here at the Olympics.
“It was definitely an experience. This season I’m undefeated at major competitions which I don’t know has happened in any event.
“But that podium was definitely the best of them all.”
And he warned his rivals there will be more to come from him.
He said: “I’m only 23. Peak age for my event is 27, but you saw Gregorio Paltrinieri there in the last 100 and he’s like 29.
“Who knows what’s going to happen in the future, but I’m very happy to say that I’m Olympic champion.”