Rhianna Benson
An Irish Olympian has claimed he'll 'never' swim again after being subjected to some nasty encounters in the middle of an open-water race.
Daniel Wiffen, 23, was amongst those to compete in the men's 10km race in Paris' River Seine earlier today, after having already collected a gold medal for his home nation in the 800m men's freestyle last week.
Five days later, he completed the 1500m, where he further impressed viewers by bagging a bronze.
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And with a plethora of skills under his belt, it seemed only natural for Wiffen to put his longevity in the water to the test in the men's 10km - the longest freshwater swim in the Olympic Games.
Sadly for the Irishman, however, it seems that his speed is stronger than his stamina as he placed 18th in the bid for another medal.
Within minutes of clambering out of the murky French waters, however, Wiffen made a series of surprising claims about allegedly unsportsmanlike conduct he was subjected to during the race, claiming it had put him off the long-distance swimming event for life.
The sportsman's brutally honest reaction has since gone viral online, leading spectators all over the world wondering what exactly could have upset such a well-decorated athlete to such an extent that he said it was the 'last' time he'd be doing the sport.
Speaking to RTE Sport after the race, he finally gave viewers an answer.
“I’m never doing it again…”
— Daniel Hussey (@DanielHussey2) August 9, 2024
Daniel Wiffen absolutely delighted he finished the 10km marathon swim in the Seine and announces his retirement from ‘open water’ ☘️
pic.twitter.com/QIap4fIQ5W
Asked how he first to have completed his first open water swim, he quickly quipped: "And last, and last."
Wiffen went on to confess he had no idea how savage his other competitors would be acting towards him in the water, recalling the apparent violence he was subjected to.
"All the coaches are laughing because I was swimming out by myself because I wasn’t arsed going behind somebody," he said.
"All I was thinking was, 'Yeah, I can’t be arsed to get kicked in the face'. I got a couple of elbows in the eye and I got punched in the face at one point.
"This sport isn’t for me I don’t think. I definitely want my own lane next time."
He went on to further add: "It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever done.
"But yeah, I’m happy I did it. Now I can say that I can range from 10k.
"And I actually placed higher than I did in Tokyo in the pools so I’m pretty proud of myself.
"But, you know, when you get to halfway, all I was thinking was, 'I am already an Olympic champion and I’m swimming this and I’m coming 18th'.
"I was like, 'Oh I’ll just finish it now, but then I’m never doing it again'."