Daniel Wiffen wins Olympic gold with a stunning 800m swim
It took one massively heroic effort and 16 lengths chasing glory and then Daniel Wiffen was the Olympic champion, producing an utterly astonishing display of 800 metres freestyle swimming to carve his name into Irish sporting history.
On another wild and rollicking night of swimming inside the Paris La Défense Arena, the 23-year-old from Armagh continued his uncanny and confident ability to repeatedly go where no Irish male swimmer had ever gone before – this time on to the top of the Olympic medal podium.
No doubt about it either, writes Ian O’Riordan.
News in Ireland
- Two men die in helicopter crash in Co Westmeath: An investigation is under way into a helicopter crash in Co Westmeath which claimed the lives of two men.
- Health staff reform plan to end ‘traditional 9am-5pm’ work pattern: Health service management is to engage with staff on work-practice reforms aimed at extending the delivery of services to between 8am and 8pm on weekdays and at weekends.
- TikTok staff in Dublin told of further risk of redundancies: Employees in Dublin were informed by email on Tuesday that their jobs were at risk of redundancy under a proposed restructuring of the company’s global monetisation integrity department.
- New services, 200km/h trains and the key proposals in All-Island strategic rail review: Faster and more frequent trains, new services in the northwest and the electrification of the intercity network are among the recommendations of a study Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has hailed as “the most ambitious vision for rail in a century”.
- Ireland united in joy: Daniel Wiffen’s Olympic gold reaches across the divided: Daniel Wiffen’s Olympic gold medal has united both traditions in Ireland in celebration like few events in Irish sporting history.
- Weather forecast: Today will be a warm and largely dry day, Met Éireann says. Good spells of sunshine this morning with possible isolated showers. Cloud will slowly build from the west during the afternoon bringing some patchy rain in the evening. Highest temperatures of 20 to 24 or 25 degrees.
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The Big Read
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Opinion
- Michael McDowell: A Trump presidency will embolden Putin and Netanyahu and present a dreadful danger for the world
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Business
- A concierge, games rooms, gym and more: benefits of build-to-rent apartments – if you can afford €4,000+ a month: If you’re a young professional starting to earn good money, surfing the waves of houseshares in Ireland’s precarious rental market can start to get old. Tired of the circus of utility bill-splitting and cleaning rotas with an ever-changing cast of housemates, some will pay a premium for what seems like a more stable set-up, writes Joanne Hunt.
Sports
- Olympics 2024, Day 5: Irish in action and best of the rest as Kellie Harrington bids for a medal: After her spick and span display in Monday’s opening fight, Kellie Harrington is back in the ring today and a repeat performance will, all going well, guarantee her a medal. She fights Colombia’s Angie Valdes, who was the silver medal-winner at last year’s Pan-American Games and is clearly no slouch. So nothing is guaranteed.
World
- Hamas says leader Ismail Haniyeh killed by Israel in Iran: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Iran, the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday, blaming Israel for the attack.
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