Northern Ireland's Olympic Games gold double delight as Magheralin's Daniel Wiffen and Belfast's Jack McMillan end decades-long wait
Daniel Wiffen from Magheralin and Belfast’s Jack McMillan have each secured a place in Northern Ireland sporting history as both finished a dream Olympic Games day to remember with gold glory.
Wiffen and McMillan – after yesterday’s milestone success – can add their names to the rarefied list of three previous Northern Ireland gold winners at summer Olympic Games in Lady Mary Peters, Jimmy Kirkwood and Stephen Martin.
Victory by Wiffen marks a first individual summer Olympics gold by a Northern Ireland athlete since Lady Mary Peters’ 1972 pentathlon triumph in Munich.
Martin and Kirkwood helped Team GB to men’s hockey gold in 1988.
Belfast's McMillan has finished with a gold medal from the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay as part of the Team GB squad.
He did not feature in the final as James Guy, Tom Dean, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott won gold – but played his part in Tuesday’s earlier heats with a swim towards securing that spot on the showpiece stage.
Wiffen’s Olympic Record time of 7:38.19 puts the 23-year-old down as the first male Team Ireland swimmer to win a Games medal.
Clocking the fifth fastest time in the discipline’s history, Wiffen set a new personal best (PB), national record (NR) and European record (ER) by a full second in the process.
Speaking poolside afterwards, Wiffen said: “I don’t think a lot of people actually believed me that I was going to do it tonight but yeah it was incredible.
"I’ve done it – that’s all I want to say!
“I was so nervous, that’s the most nervous I’ve ever been for a race but do you know what calmed me down – I heard by brother shout for me as soon as I walked out.
"I heard none of the crowd – just him, and that’s what calmed me down, and really levelled my head.
“It feels incredible...I’m writing myself into the history books!”
Additional medal success could arrive for Northern Ireland today when Hannah Scott of Coleraine lines out for Team GB in the women’s quad sculls final (11.14am UK start time).
TURN TO P29-31