Daniel Wiffen will not defend his 1,500 metres freestyle title after withdrawing from the remainder of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore due to the ongoing effects of appendicitis.
The 24-year-old Armagh swimmer surrendered the first of his world titles on Wednesday after finishing eighth in the 800m freestyle final, admitting afterwards that his “stomach was in pieces” once he got to the 400m mark.
In a statement released via Swim Ireland, Wiffen said: “Just to let everyone know I have medically withdrawn from the World Championships in Singapore due to the appendicitis that I suffered from in June.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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His eighth place in the 400m final came exactly a year to the day after winning the Olympic title in Paris, but Wiffen was clearly off his best when coming home in a time of 7:58.56, well down on his personal best of 7:38.19, the Olympic and European record he set in Paris.
Wiffen was the last of the eight qualifiers for the final, after clocking 7:46.36 in his heat on Tuesday morning, which resulted in a lane one start. He made a bold attempt to defend his title, leading the race after 200m, .40 inside world record pace, before he dropped back to fifth at the 300m mark.
In February of last year, Wiffen won the 800m freestyle World title in Doha in a time of 7:40.94. He then added the 1,500m freestyle title, before winning Olympic bronze in Paris at that distance to add to his 800m gold.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s Ellie McCartney is through to the 200m breaststroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore after swimming a lifetime best in the semi-final.
It will be the National Centre Limerick swimmer’s first world final in her debut world championships (50m).
McCartney swam a lifetime best 2:23.79 for third place in her heat and progresses as the sixth seed for the final, which takes place at 1.08pm on Friday.
The 20-year-old won silver medal at the European under-23 championships in Slovakia in June.
“I’m ecstatic,” McCartney said. “This is what we train for. And I think that’s really been a strength this year that I’ve been able to progress through each of the rounds.
“To make it to a world championship final in my first worlds, it’s really exciting. Whether or not I made the final, I would be able to walk away satisfied just because, you know, I put my best foot forward and PB’d, you know, I know I’ve left everything in the pool.’
Neutral athlete Evgenlia Chikunova will be the top seed for the final in 2:20.65.
Meanwhile, Ellen Walshe finished eighth in Thursday’s 200m butterfly final, her second final of the week, following an eighth place in the 200m individual medley on Monday.
The Templeogue swimmer clocked her second fastest time in the event in 2:08.34, just outside of the 2:07.48 Irish record that she swam in Wednesday night’s semi-final.
Walshe is looking forward to her final and main event of the championships on Sunday, the 400m individual medley where she was a finalist in Paris.
Canada’s Summer McIntosh won the final of the Women’s 200m butterfly in 2:01.99, the second fastest swim ever in the event.
In the 200m backstroke semi-final, John Shortt swam his third fastest time clocking 1:57.30, just outside the 1:56.98 from the heats, to place 15th overall.
Shortt is back in action on Friday with Evan Bailey, Cormac Rynn and Jack Cassin in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
As well at the relay, Cassin will also be in action in the 100m butterfly on Friday, while Tom Fannon, Paris Olympic semi-finalist, makes his long-awaited Singapore debut in the 50m freestyle.
