Daniel Wiffen sobs during Irish national anthem after making history with gold medal

Daniel Wiffen wiped away tears as the Irish national anthem played after he secured a history-making gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, 30 July.

The swimmer, who grew up in the village of Magheralin, near Lurgan, Co Armagh, triumphed in the men’s 800 metres freestyle final.

Wiffen, 23, is the first gold medallist from Northern Ireland for 36 years and Ireland’s first male swimming gold medallist.

He is the first individual gold medallist from Northern Ireland since Mary Peters triumphed for GB in the pentathlon at Munich in 1972.