Although he was just over three seconds shy of his own European and National record of 7:38.19. Which was set during his gold-winning swim in Paris last summer, the time still tops the 2025 global rankings and secures his place at July’s World Championships in Singapore. His twin brother, Nathan, finished second in 7:57.84.

Despite the win, Wiffen admitted he was expecting more. “For me, the way I’ve been training, I was expecting quite a bit faster”. Nevertheless, he found encouragement in posting such a time with minimal racing and training. Since winning Olympic gold, Wiffen has had limited race exposure and is steadily preparing for future competitions, as he plans to include the 400m freestyle in his Olympic programme for LA 2028. He will also race the 1500m freestyle later this week.

A packed National Aquatics Centre reflected Wiffen’s rising star status. “It’s amazing to see this many people here… I loved it”, he said, calling swimming “Ireland’s best sport”.

Elsewhere, Ellie McCartney became the second-fastest Irishwoman ever in the 100m breaststroke, clocking 1:07.24 in the semi-finals. She’ll challenge Olympic medallist Mona McSharry, who qualified with 1:07.24.

In other events, Alana Burns Atkin won her fourth straight national title in the 200m butterfly (2:16.85). Brandon Biss took gold in the 100m backstroke (56.72), while Belfast’s Lottie Cullen defended her 100m backstroke title in 1:01.56, earning consideration times for both the World University Games and European U23 Championships.