GOLD FOR IRELAND! Daniel Wiffen secures first place and breaks Olympic record in swimming final
The Armagh swimmer won a closely-contested 800m, and managed to hold out for a neck and neck final length against Italy and the US.
It's gold and an Olympic record for the Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen, who smashed the final and managed to beat his conteders in a closely-contested 800 metres final.
While it had looked like Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri had worked his way into position and was going to hold off Wiffen and Finke, the Irishman turned on the power, utilising his big kick to power home for glory.
The swimmer, from Magheralin in County Down, hit the finish line at 7 minutes and 38.19 seconds, smashing the previous Olympic record. Wiffen set a new personal best, national record and European record by a full second in the process.
The time is also the fifth-fastest time ever recorded in the 800m swim.
There were high hopes for Wiffen ahead of his trip to Paris, with the swimmer recently breaking the short-course 800m record.
Wiffen's gold medal now once again moves Ireland up in the rankings, following an exceptional bronze-medal swim from Sligo swimmer Mona McSharry yesterday.