Daniel Wiffen Named BBC NI Sports Personality of the Year

Olympic gold medalist Daniel Wiffen has been recognized as the 2024 BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year. Wiffen experienced a remarkable year in swimming, becoming the first athlete from Northern Ireland in 36 years to secure an Olympic gold medal, which he achieved in the 800m freestyle event at the Paris Games. The Team Ireland swimmer established an Olympic record of seven minutes 38.19 seconds in the 800m, concluding a notable Games performance with a bronze medal in the 1500m. His victory in the 800m marked him as the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win gold since Stephen Martin and Jimmy Kirkwood, who were part of GB’s hockey team in 1988, and the first individual gold medalist since pentathlete Lady Mary Peters at the 1972 Games. The 23-year-old, who hails from Magheralin in County Armagh, had previously demonstrated his potential as an Olympic contender by winning gold in both the 800m and 1500m events at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February. “It’s amazing,” Wiffen stated upon receiving the award from his mother, Rachel, shortly after arriving home for Christmas. He added, “Sports Personality of the Year is pretty cool, it’s one of the biggest awards in sport. I didn’t even know, I’m quite surprised. It’s going to be a great Christmas in our house and I’ll add it to the trophy cabinet.” He further commented, “It’s been such a magical year. Christmas time, it’s even better to celebrate it with family. We all worked towards this goal of winning the Olympics and we did it. Now it’s time to celebrate.” Wiffen now belongs to a distinguished group of BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year recipients, a list that includes Rory McIlroy, Carl Frampton, Rhys McClenaghan, and the 2023 winner, Ciara Mageean. He remarked, “The list goes on of how many great people have won this award. The name Rory McIlroy stands out to me as a big golf fan.” He concluded, “But it’s just very special, 2024 was my year. I’m stuck for words, it’s quite a surprise.” Reflecting on his mindset a year prior, Wiffen stated: “To be honest, you know you’re going to win the Olympics from the Christmas before. “I knew from that Christmas that I was going to win. I guess now there’s only a couple more Christmases before we go to LA [for the 2028 Games] and have that dream again.” Neil Brittain, BBC Sport NI executive editor, commented: “It has been a fantastic year for our sporting stars – making it a real challenge for the judges to select a winner. “It was our best ever Olympics with six athletes from Northern Ireland bringing home medals. “Many of our top athletes had a remarkable 2024, achieving success that would have won this award in any other year. “However, what Daniel did in the pool in Paris was absolutely incredible. He told us he would win and he backed that confidence up with a gold-medal performance.” The judging panel for this award consisted of All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winner Oisin McConville, four-time Paralympic champion Michael McKillop, Ireland hockey Olympian Katie Mullan, Northern Ireland women’s football record cap holder Julie Nelson, Six Nations Grand Slam winner Grace Davitt, BBC Sport NI executive editor Neil Brittain, and BBC Sport NI football commentator Thomas Kane.