Daniel Wiffen will not defend his 1500m freestyle title at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Singapore after withdrawing on medical grounds.
Daniel Wiffen has withdrawn from the rest of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Singapore due to medical reasons.
Swim Ireland have announced that Wiffen’s withdrawal stems from lingering complications following appendicitis he endured in June.
The current Olympic 800m freestyle champion saw his World Championships title slip away at the same distance on Wednesday, reports the Irish Mirror.
Wiffen came home eighth in the final, clocking 7:58.56 – significantly slower than his Olympic and European record of 7:38.19 which he achieved at the Paris Games exactly a year ago.
The week got off to a poor start for the 24-year-old when he failed to reach the 400m final, though he pledged not to allow his recent illness to derail him.
“I’m not letting it affect me at this World Championships, I’m here to race and race fast,” he declared at the time.
But after scraping into the 800m final in eighth position, the Magheralin swimmer admitted: “I just feel really weak at the moment. I felt it in the 400 and then I felt it in the 800 free, so something’s going wrong.”
Following his performance in the 800m final, he has chosen not to defend the 1500m freestyle title he claimed in Doha last year.
Wiffen said: “Just to let everyone know I have medically withdrawn from the World Championships in Singapore due to the appendicitis that I suffered from in June.
“Thank you for all the support in last night’s final. I wasn’t physically at my best, but I will be working towards getting back to full fitness and winning shape soon.”
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