Meet Daniel Wiffen, Ireland's gold medalist with a Game of Thrones connection

Daniel Wiffen swam in the 800m freestyle final on Tuesday evening, where he turned his dreams into reality, winning gold for Ireland .

The Co Armagh man, a former Loughborough University student, was the favorite for the race having cruised to victory in the semi-final and Wiffen delivered in an extraordinary race .

In 2021, he competed in the men's 800m freestyle and 1,500m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2022, he won a silver medal representing Northern Ireland in the 1,500m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games.

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Two years ago, he became the first Irish swimmer to break a European record in history. Since then, the 23-year-old has added one gold and two silver European U23 medals, three European gold medals - both in 2023 - and two World gold medals.

Wiffen is a twin brother with his brother Nathan also a brilliant swimmer in his own right. Earlier this year Daniel became the fourth man to do the distance double when he won the 1500m freestyle by more than 10 seconds at the World Championships up in Doha.

Earlier this week, Wiffen posted the third fastest 800m time of his career to secure a Paris final spot and the opportunity to win a first individual summer Olympics gold by a Northern Ireland athlete since Lady Mary Peters' 1972 pentathlon triumph.

How old is Daniel Wiffen?

Daniel Wiffen is 23. He was born on July 14, 2001.

Where is he from?

He was born in London, but moved to Magheralin, on the Down Armagh border at the age of two.

Who is his brother?

Hsi twin brother is called Nathan and he is also a world-class swimmer. He finished fourth in the 1,500m at the 2024 European Championships.

The siblings once worked as extras in Game of Thrones - in the iconic 'Red Wedding' scene.

Swimming is in the blood for the Wiffens as their mum swam at a high level as did their older brother Ben who now works as a coach.

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