After a difficult period in his career over the last 12 months or so, it was refreshing to see Daniel Wiffen produce a strong performance in the European Championships in Paris on Tuesday morning.

The Olympic goal medallist eased to third in his heat in the 800m freestyle to book his place in tomorrow’s final, with his twin brother Nathan also taking part in the race. The latter would not manage to make it through to the final, but he was much improved compared to his most recent showings.

The pair recently returned to train in Ireland, having previously moved to California in 2025. That move turned out to be a mistake, with the training regimen at Cal-Berkley not one that either athlete thrived under.

Daniel Wiffen & Nathan Wiffen open up on American move

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Daniel Wiffen and Nathan Wiffen returned to Ireland earlier this year, spending the last 12 weeks training under Steve Beckerleg at Swim Ireland. Both have improved quite a bit during that period and will now look to put their disappointing spell in America behind them.

Speaking to RTÉ after Tuesday’s race, both of the Wiffen brothers opened up on the impact of their ill-advised move to California.

Daniel: I think if I was at my best I would be comfortable with winning that pretty comfortably. Now I’m a bit off…

You could see it the whole way through the year, it was so up and down. The majority of it was down and then we came back to Dublin 12 weeks ago. I’ve been able to pull out some shape to actually make the finals and try and challenge for the medals…

Nathan: I’m pretty happy with it. I think it’s 15 seconds better than I did in trials. I think the move to America kind of did us both in really. In 12 weeks I can get back into shape for the start, but it’s hard to get into extended PB range…

I’m back to enjoying training again. I’m loving the longer sessions that we’re doing.

Daniel: Steve is doing great as well, our coach in the National Centre in Dublin Steve Beckerleg. An unbelievable job. We’re swimming well again and that’s all that we can ask for.

Daniel Wiffen in the mix for European gold

Daniel Wiffen is clearly one of the best in the world when fit and firing, as evidenced by his exploits at the Olympics in 2024. He clearly felt that he was not being well managed in California, leading to his return to Ireland in recent times.

While still not at his best, the 25-year old will be aiming to secure a European medal when he takes to the pool for the 800m freestyle final on Wednesday evening.