'I'm going to come away with more than one gold': Daniel Wiffen outlines Commonwealth Games golden plan

Since then, he has collected gold and bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, two World Championships gold medals plus four gold and two bronze medals at the European Championships.

Wiffen spearheads a strong Team NI swimming squad for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer and his ambition is to win three medals as he competes in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle.

The 24-year-old looks back to Birmingham with fond memories.

“The silver medal was that first competition for me where I was able to put my name out there, and basically, it was like the kick-starter that went from silver at Commonwealth Games to European well and Olympic success,” said Wiffen. “To be honest, obviously, I was aiming for gold at those Birmingham games, but, at the end of the day, it was a medal and a medal is what I needed.

"I'm not going to say I wish I won gold at Commonwealth Games and didn't win the Olympics...I'm happy with the result.

"This time, I'm going to come away with more than one gold, so I'll be good.

“We had a great team in Birmingham. To be honest, I'd never really seen much Commonwealth success before because I just never really was on the team, so, I didn't pay much attention to it.

“Last time, it was really good and swimming itself is now just progressing and we're looking forward to seeing what's going to happen in Glasgow.”

Wiffen was Ireland’s most successful athlete at the Paris Olympics.

“I would say it hasn't changed my life,” he added. “It's definitely made me want to get more medals because of the feeling you get when you win them.

"Coming into Glasgow off the back of the Olympics and being fully healthy again, it'll be an exciting time.

“I'm looking forward to putting my name on the top podium and it'll be great.

“It's very cool to be an Olympic champion. I think adding a Commonwealth Games gold to it would be even better.

"It’s going to be a great competition, I'm looking forward to leading up to Glasgow and looking forward to putting myself out there for Team NI and winning every medal I can touch.

'It (Olympics) was amazing, I was probably relieved, that's what I would say, because you put all this pressure on yourself...I knew I was going to win before going into it, so I just had to get the job done and then when the job was done, it was basically celebration time.”

A Commonwealth Games goal is the one medal missing from Wiffen’s collection and he is confident he can rectify that in Glasgow.

“I've got three events where I'm going to be targeting the gold medal in,” he said. “I'm looking for at least two golds and the third will be lovely.

“I'm used to doing three events now, I've been doing it a while, but if you put it in any other sport terms, nobody else could do it.

"I was the only person to get two medals at the Olympic Games for Ireland. very rarely anybody ever gets two.

“For me, going to the Commonwealth Games, I'm looking to come away with three medals, at least two golds, and it's going to be very fun.

“Swimmers are a bit different, to be honest, it’s a very demanding sport. I put the time in every day...not a lot of athletes are able to do the 400m, the 800m and the 1,500m in any sport.

“I just have to put the time in when I'm training and make sure I'm dedicated and make sure I'm pushing every day to make sure I get the results that I want.

“I train nearly 80 kilometres on average a week and I'm used to having to do those longer reps and training and that's just how you get used to it.

“I've been doing this since I was 12 years old, I've been doing it my whole life, so when I come to these races it just becomes second nature.

“You revert back to your training, that's what I do in the races – work hard at training, the results come in the racing.”

Wiffen could face teammate and fellow Olympic gold medallist Jack McMillan in the final of the 400m freestyle.

“I do back myself to win that one, but we'll see what form Jack comes into,” he added. “It'll be nice to be on a team with him, we grew up racing each other and swimming and being at the Olympics together.

“The 400m is kind of like a sprint event for me, I've only started recently doing it, so now it's like we need to progress on and add this as an event.

"The 800m is my specialty, I'm the Olympic champion, world record holder in it,

“The 1,500m is the longest one, I've got the bronze, I've got a gold at the World Championships in it, I just need to progress that on now to keep getting those golds and get rid of the bronze.”

Wiffen is happy to have moved his training camp back home to Dublin after a spell in America.

“The USA was definitely an experience,” he added. “We were there for Nathan, my twin, who was competing in the NCAAs, that was interesting.

“It probably wasn't the best choice in terms of training but coming back now, training in Dublin, everything's reset.

“I'm working with Andi Manley, my coach, who got me to the Olympic gold and the Commonwealth silver last time.

"It's going to be very easy, just replicate what we did from 2022 to 2024 years right now, we go do that, we win Glasgow, we win LA.”

Team NI Swimming Squad for 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games:

Daniel Wiffen 400/800/1500m Freestyle

Jack McMillan 100/200/400m Freestyle

Danielle Hill 50/100m Backstroke, 50m Freestyle

Ellie McCartney 100/200m Breaststroke, 200m IM

Conor Ferguson 50m Backstroke

Charlotte Cullen 100/200m Backstroke

Grace Davison 100/200m Freestyle, 100/200m Backstroke

Adam Bradley Men’s 4 x 100m MTR

Matthew Hamilton Men’s 4 x 100m MTR

Paddy Johnston Men’s 4 x 100m MTR

Alana Burns Atkin Women’s 4 x 100m MTR

Victoria Catterson Women’s 4 x 100m FTR

Emily Hughes Women’s 4 x 100m FTR

Bethany Firth S14 200m Freestyle

Barry McClements S9 100m Backstroke S10 100m Fly