Ireland's Daniel Wiffen wins European gold medal after he 'hammers' final 200m

IRELAND’S DANIEL WIFFEN has won a gold medal at the European Short Course Swimming Championships tonight in Lublin, Poland, while Evan Bailey claimed a bronze.

The Olympic champion registered a time of 14:13.96 in the 1500m Freestyle final.

It is the second time in a row that the 24-year-old has won gold at this event.

On Tuesday, Wiffen — in his first event back following surgery on his appendix in September – won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle.

The Down native spent most of the race in second place behind Zalan Sarkany of Hungary before a strong finish over the last 100m saw the Irishman triumph.

Sarkany (14:15.51) had to settle for silver, and Germany’s Florian Wellbrock (14:19.26) secured bronze.

“I went through so many emotions in that race,” Wiffen said afterwards. “At the start, I was feeling really rough. I was like, I hope I can stay at this pace. I got to eight hundred, and I thought I was done. I counted myself out of the race, and then I was somehow keeping the gap close enough and then I got to three hundred left and the race was actually going pretty quickly in my head, so I was like, all right, if I’m going to go for it, I’m going to have to hammer it last two hundred metres of the race.

“I don’t know what my split was, but I’m sure it’s one of the fastest ever to come back in. But honestly, that finish just shows the work I’ve been putting into this, and I’m so happy it came out like this. I can’t describe how I did that because it was all just in my head.

“I just knew that I could go for it. I was like, I’m not going to give up without a fight. And it just happened to be that I was able to hammer it down and I had enough energy to carry it through to the end, and, yeah, I’m just so happy.”

On retaining his title, Wiffen added: “I’ve lost one (400m), I’ve defended one, I’ve got one more (800m). I hope to defend that one because I’m the world record holder.

“It’s amazing to get my first-ever title defence because I’ve lost two from the world champs and now I’ve got one back, so I’m happy, and it’s just a great way to move forward to the rest of the year.”

In addition, Evan Bailey tied for third in the 200m Freestyle final to win a bronze medal — his first-ever international podium, despite being ranked 13th in the heats and seventh in the semi-finals.

The New Ross native finished in 1:41.48 — an identical time to Polish swimmer Kamil Sieradzki, with whom he shared a bronze medal — and his third Irish record in two days.

‘I’m still shocked,” Bailey said. “I hit the wall and saw those lights in the block, and I was just like, I couldn’t believe it. I knew I was in with a chance in the race, but oh my god. I just couldn’t see it happening. It’s what I was thinking about all day, and I wanted it so badly. I wanted an international podium so bad all these years. And to finally do it on a senior stage is just an incredible feeling, I don’t know how to react, to be honest.

“I breathe to my right, so going back into the last 25, I knew I was in a good position, but I had no idea I was in that position. I couldn’t see the boys that last 25, I just put the head down and went for it.

“My coach, John, absolutely filled me with confidence there, so an outside lane doesn’t matter in the two free, it’s so tight that anything can happen, and he said, ‘Just trust in your training and know what you’ve done.’ I can’t believe that. I know I had the confidence going in, I knew I could do it, I was telling myself I could do it, I’m shocked.”

Duncan Scott won the race in 1:40.54, while fellow British swimmer Jack McMillan claimed a silver medal with a time of 1:40.94.

Following his magnificent gold medal in the 200m Backstroke on Wednesday, John Shortt came fourth in the 100m Backstroke semi-final.

The 18-year-old’s time was 50.16 — a new Irish and Junior record.

The performance was enough to secure a spot in the final for the Galway swimmer.

Also progressing from Shortt’s semi-final were Great Britain’s Oliver Morgan (49.62), Italian Lorenzo Mora (50.07), and Czech swimmer Jan Čejka (50.11).

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“I’m kind of tired now,” Shortt said. “It’s a really busy last four or five days, tonight was just about getting the job done, and that’s what happened. It was just a pretty solid swim, and I know I can work on some improvements tomorrow.

“It’s a very different race (to the 200m), different tactically, it’s just about making sure I’m with those guys and be competitive and try to get in towards those medals, it’s all very close. There’s only 0.6 in between me and first, it’s all very close, so anything can happen.”

It was also a good day for Ellie McCartney, who will be the top seed going into Friday’s final.

The Enniskillen native won her 200m Breaststroke semi-final in a time of 2:18.81, which is an Irish record.

Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium (2:19.90), Czech swimmer Kristýna Horská (2:19.94), Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova (2:20.49), and Clara Rybak-Andersen of Denmark (2:20.89) will all join McCartney in the final.

“I’m really excited,” the Irish star said. “I’ve never been in this position, especially coming into a senior meet. Hopefully, I can manage the emotions and perform better tomorrow.

“I know that I’m not the fastest in terms of speed, so I worked on my strengths and use that to my advantage, knowing the back end can be fast.

“I was able to put my best foot forward in the semi-final, so hopefully there’s more to come.”

Earlier, Ellen Walshe finished seventh in her event.

The 24-year-old, who was competing in the 100m individual medley final, registered her second-best-ever time of 58.62.

Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands won the race with a new Championship and European record time of 56.26.

Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk (56.80) took silver while Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko (57.17) claimed bronze.

“I think the girls really stepped it up tonight in the 100m, they dropped at least a second or two off,” Walshe said. “I guess to be in it is kind of a surprise (for me), so, yeah, it’s probably just a bit quick for me.”

Meanwhile, Eoin Corby did not advance from the 200m Breaststroke semi-final.

The Limerick swimmer finished eighth with a time of 2:05.89, setting a new Irish record in the process.

“I’m quite happy,” he said. “I tried something a bit different. I knew my strength lies in coming back quick, but I knew I needed to get out quick to stay with the lads. I died a bit during the end, but I tried something new, got a PB, so I can’t be too disappointed. It’s a stacked race, it’s so quick, it’s unbelievable. It’s unreal to get in and race against those guys and a great experience, hopefully I can learn from that and improve for next time.”

Tonight’s results leave Ireland fourth on the medal table at the midway point of the competition.

Elsewhere, at the US Open Championships (50m) in Austin, Texas, Olympic bronze medallist Mona McSharry impressed with a time of 30.80 in the long course season opener in the 50m Breaststroke to top the heats rankings. The Sligo native will compete in the final overnight.

On Friday, McCartney and Shortt compete in the 200m Breaststroke final and 100m Backstroke final, respectively.

Meanwhile, Bailey is part of the 100m freestyle team along with Cormac Ryan, Matthew Hamilton and Adam Bradley.

Wiffen competes in the 800m Freestyle and Walshe in the 200m Individual Medley, while Rosalie Phelan takes part in the 100m Freestyle.

Written by Paul Fennessy and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.