Hot off the heels of winning Best Male Swimmer along with two golds at the Aquatics World Championship in Doha 2024,  Daniel Wiffen has his eyes set on the next prize; Olympic glory.

Speaking of his new found status:"My life has changed but I don't think me as a person has changed"

Wiffen says, "I always wanted to be a world champion and a world record holder".

After smashing one of the longest-standing world records in swimming last year for freestyle short-course, Wiffen has won two medals at the Aquatics World Championship, one in for the 1500m Freestyle and one from the 800m as well as the crowning glory of the golden trophy for best male swimmer.

When asked about this sudden explosion of interest in men's swimming and if the fair-weather fans bother him Wiffen was nonchalant: "Better late than never. I mean now is the perfect year to get into swimming".

Speaking of this year, Wiffen contemplated Ireland's Olympic prospects at Paris 2024 "We definitely have a chance of a least one medal

"We have multiple people who are pushing finals now. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do." he continues.

The advantages of Paris are numerous, with some more obvious than others: "I mean it's definitely easier because we only have a one hour time difference.

"That can be a big contributing factor to your performance" the swimmer says.

"I mean it's also a lot easier for my parents to come over and watch too so that makes it easier for me".

Daniel Wiffen. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Although ambitious, and seemingly very confident, Wiffen maintains a breezy air when it comes to competitiveness " Well my motivation is different to everybody else" he says.

'I am not motivated to swim because of the results I produce in the pool. I am doing it for the fun."

"I do it because I enjoy training. When I turn up to training its not because I want to become a world champion its because I enjoy training".

The Swimmer said: "I would happily never race again and still train everyday. I love it".

However, the PTSB ambassador acknowledged that there's a competitive element:  "I think I always have target on my back. I am quite vocal on social media and I put out quite a lot of videos. But you've got to embrace it if you're gonna be on the top."

"At every championships there's always going to be a new swimmer who comes out of nowhere".

"Going into the Olympics, if I execute the race plan how I want it to go, it should hopefully go my way".

"I just want to be on the podium".

Check out Hot Press' exclusive interview with Daniel Wiffen here.