Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen's kindness to young Portadown swimmers praised after gold success

​Last night’s record-breaking win in the men’s 800m freestyle relay was cheered on by fans across Northern Ireland, with strong support especially from the members of Portadown Amateur Swimming Club thanks to his special show of generosity.

Portadown members train out of the Craigavon-based South Lake Leisure Centre facility, with the venue often used by Wiffen on trips back home to see family in Magheralin.

With the Olympic Games star sharing the lanes with Portadown’s next generation, it has presented an opportunity for some magic moments.

“Back in early January after his Christmas break he was in South Lake training on a Saturday morning and he got in and swam away but then, off the cuff, spent about 45 minutes after his work chatting away to our swimmers,” said Conor McKeown, a head coach with the Portadown club recently enjoying record-breaking success at Irish Championships. “Both he and Nathan (Daniel’s twin brother) just sat answering questions and spending time with our young club members.

"Then around April time they were training again the same time as the club.

“And, again, once done with their own work they had a few 25-metre races with our swimmers and it was all great fun and wonderful for our swimmers.

"I’ve met Daniel’s family lots of times at different meetings all over and you see the commitment and support from the whole family, so it’s wonderful to see all the years of sacrifice paying dividends now for everyone.

"The feelgood factor and ripple effect for swimming obviously but even sport in general in Northern Ireland is going to be absolutely fantastic following that Paris win I think.

"Daniel has already shown himself to be such a great ambassador for swimming.

"And I’ve no doubt it will be even more of the same after his fantastic success, it’s all just wonderful to see as he’s such an impressive person.”