Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Wiffen won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 800m freestyle
ByLauren McCannBBC Sport NI Journalist- Published58 minutes ago
Olympic gold medallist Daniel Wiffen stated his intention to move his training base away from California if he does not perform well at the Irish Open in Bangor.
The 24-year-old made the switch from Loughborough University, where he spent five years, to the University of California, Berkeley last year which is where his twin brother Nathan is also based.
Wiffen opened up on his reasons for leaving Loughborough as well as his experience Stateside as he contemplates his next steps if he doesn't hit his personal targets across his multiple events at the Irish Open, which runs from 8-12 April and doubles as the Commonwealth Games trials.
"One of the main reasons I left Loughborough was I wasn't convinced I could stay there and still go fast, I wasn't convinced with the training and the way the programme was moving that I could perform at the best of my ability which is why I moved," he said.
"When I went to California, it was an eye-opening experience, it was all brand new. Now, I've been there a bit of time it's good to see if it works. That's what I'm judging at the trials.
"I'm going to be very honest, if I don't swim fast next week I'm not going to stay in California."
'I'm thinking of coming back to Dublin if it doesn't go well'
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Wiffen won gold in the 1500m and two bronze medals in the 800m and 400m at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in December
Wiffen said he is expecting "to swim the best ever so I don't have to make a decision" across the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m events he will be competing in, despite his recent lack of competitive action.
He outlined his goals as swimming the 400m around 4.33 seconds, the 800m below 7.42 seconds and the 1500m under 14.40 to assess whether his time spent in California has been successful.
The County Armagh man also cited Dublin as a potential future base if he does decide to move, but emphasised that doing so would be heavily dependant on his performances in Bangor.
"If I'm around those times, under or around PB, then that's great. That obviously means the training is working, and if it doesn't work then I [have to figure out] what I'm going do after," he added.
"I'm thinking of coming back to Dublin if it doesn't go well, but, we have to see. If I swim lights out in Bangor, then my decisions obviously can't have been made."
Wiffen also explained the main differences he has encounter between training in England and in the US, where they use yardage instead of metres.
"The training is just quite different and, even though I don't swim a lot of yards, I just think being in America is fun. There's quite a lot of distractions, and it's a good lifestyle but, it's not the same as what Loughborough was like," he said.
"[It was] all about grind, very similar weather to Ireland and I love swimming in the rain and when the weather is dull. When you're in the sun everything becomes a lot harder and the motivation becomes a lot harder.
"When I'm swimming in California, my motivation is I'm with a really good training group and everybody's pushing each other, where as in Loughborough, I feel like it was more self-motivation, I was getting there because I wanted to win.
"I wanted to do all these things where I feel like another group is kind of pushing me to swim fast, which I like, but I think I want a bit of the self-motivation back, so we'll have to see how the next week goes."
