'I felt a bit off' - Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen home outside Commonwealth Games medal spots in Glasgow
Daniel Wiffen’s bid to add Commonwealth Games glory to his Olympic gold finished in frustration with fourth on Monday as Australia dominated the medal positions across the men’s 800m freestyle final.
The 25 year old, who had finished fifth last week in the men’s 400m freestyle final, told TNT Sports how “I felt a bit off when I dived in” following the showpiece race and his time of 7:48.82.
Matthew Galea edged out Wiffen for the podium position ahead of fellow Team Australia swimmers Sam Short – a commanding winner to add to his 400m gold – and Benjamin Goedemans.
"To be honest, I felt a bit off when I dived in...I was just trying to hold on and then it was too late by the time I actually started to feel good,” said Wiffen on TNT Sports during a post-race interview. "I can’t really complain, I got fourth...see what happens in the 1500m on Wednesday.
"I just hope I feel a bit better than that and then I’ll be golden...we’ll see what happens in the 1500 and see if we can get after it.”
Wiffen won 800m freestyle gold and a bronze within the 1500m across the 2024 Olympics Games in Paris.
He secured silver across the Commonwealth Games in 2022 at Birmingham over the men’s 1500m freestyle.