December 20, 2021
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Daniel Wiffen set two new Irish Senior Records on Monday as he made it through to the 1500m Freestyle World Championships Final in sixth place.
In October Wiffen became the first Irish swimmer to swim 1500m Freestyle in less than 15 minutes when setting the previous Irish Senior Record at 14:48.24 in the heats at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Budapest.
On Monday he lowered that record again to 14:32.13 to finish fourth in his heat and sixth overall, earning a spot in Tuesday’s 1500m Freestyle World Championships Final. During his 1500m, he also broke his own Irish Senior Record for 800m, reaching that point in 7:41.82 to lower the record by five seconds.
Wiffen said: “It’s unbelievable. That was my goal for this meet, to make the Final, and I’m not even in last, I’m in sixth, so I’m not even in the outside lane, which is going to be good. And I got a massive PB as well.
“I wanted to go with the guys at the front anyway to see what it was going to be like holding the pace, and I think I stuck with them for quite a good bit and then obviously I just tailed off a bit at the end. But I definitely think I can improve maybe tomorrow, so looking forward to it.”
Wiffen’s 1500m Freestyle Final is on Tuesday afternoon at 14:06 Irish time.
Wiffen currently holds the eight Irish Senior and Junior Records for long course and short course 800m and 1500m Freestyle
Ellen Walshe into 100m Butterfly Semi-Final
400m Individual Medley Silver Medallist Ellen Walshe put in two Irish Senior Record-breaking swims in the 200m Individual Medley and 100m Butterfly heats, earning a spot in the latter’s Semi-Finals on Monday afternoon.
These performances mean Ireland has now achieved 14 Irish Senior Record-breaking swims in Abu Dhabi.
In the 200m Individual Medley heats she dropped three seconds from her own lifetime best and two seconds from the Irish Senior Record set by Niamh Kilgallen in 2017 when clocking 2:08.69. She finished 9th, missing the Final by 0.09.
In the 100m Butterfly heats she bettered her own Irish Senior Record of 58.51 when swimming 57.32. She goes into the Semi-Finals in 14th place. They begin at 14:32 Irish time.
Jack McMillan into 100m Freestyle Semi-Final
Jack McMillan, who was part of the quartet that finished 6th in the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final on Sunday, will also be in Semi-Final action on Monday afternoon.
The National Centre Ulster swimmer clocked 47.04 in his 100m Freestyle heat to finish 9th overall. The Irish Senior Record of 46.68 is held by two-time Olympian Shane Ryan. Semi-Finals for 100m Freestyle start at 14:14 Irish time.
Fellow Tokyo 2020 Olympian Danielle Hill signed off her year with 24.83 to finish 22nd in the 50m Freestyle heats. She competed in four events in Abu Dhabi, getting through to the Semi-Finals in 50m Backstroke on Sunday, where she finished 14th.
All the action can be followed via fina.org.
Records
Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay – Heats: 7:02.35 – Final: 6:59.54
Jack McMillan, Robbie Powell, Finn McGeever, Jordan Sloan
Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay – Heats: 3:12.94
Calum Bain, Brendan Hyland, Jack McMillan, Jordan Sloan
Daniel Wiffen’s Irish Senior Record Swims in Abu Dhabi
1500m Freestyle Heats 1500m – 14:32.13
1500m Freestyle Heats 800m – 7:41.82
Mona McSharry's Irish Senior Record Swims in Abu Dhabi
50m Breaststroke Semi-Final - 29.65
50m Breaststroke Final - 29.59
100m Individual Medley - 59.65
100m Individual Medley – 59.35
100m Breaststroke – 1:04.22
Ellen Walshe’s Irish Senior Record Swims in Abu Dhabi
400m Individual Medley Heats – 4:30.78
400m Individual Medley Final – 4:26.52
200m Individual Medley Heats – 2:08.69
100m Butterfly Heats – 57.32
TOTAL: 14
Results
Monday Morning Results:
200m Individual Medley Heats – Top 8 go to Final
Ellen Walshe – 2:08.69 – 9th
100m Butterfly Heats – Top 16 go to Semi-Final
Ellen Walshe – 57.32 – 14th
100m Freestyle Heats – Top 16 go to Semi-Final
Jack McMillan – 47.07 – 9th
50m Freestyle Heats – Top 16 go to Semi-Final
Danielle Hill – 24.83 – 22nd
1500m Freestyle Heats – Top 8 go to Final
Daniel Wiffen – 14:32.13 – 6th
Schedule
Monday Afternoon Schedule
14:14 Jack McMillan – 100m Freestyle SEMI-FINAL
14:32 Ellen Walshe – 100m Butterfly SEMI-FINAL
15:42 Mona McSharry – 100m Breaststroke FINAL
Tuesday Morning Heats Schedule – Starts 05:30
Mona McSharry & Niamh Coyne – 200m Breaststroke
*All times are Irish. Abu Dhabi = +4hrs
Find the full Irish schedule at Swim Ireland FINA World SC Swimming Championships 2021
Swim Ireland Team
2021 FINA World Championships (25m)
Abu Dhabi, UAE | December 16-21
Calum Bain - University of Stirling, Scotland - Coach: Bradley Hay
Niamh Coyne - National Centre (Dublin) - Coach: Ben Higson
Danielle Hill - Larne Swimming Club - Coach: Peter Hill
Brendan Hyland - National Centre (Dublin) - Coach: Ben Higson
Finn McGeever - National Centre (Limerick) - Coach: John Szaranek
Jack McMillan - National Centre (Ulster) - Coach: Davy Johnston
Mona McSharry - University of Tennessee, USA - Coach: Matt Kredich
Robert Powell - National Centre (Dublin) - Coach: Ben Higson
Jordan Sloan - National Centre (Ulster) - Coach: Davy Johnston
Ellen Walshe - University of Tennessee, USA - Coach: Matt Kredich
Daniel Wiffen - Loughborough University, England - Coach: Andi Manley
