Northern Ireland

Olympic hero Daniel Wiffen rushed to hospital as he misses closing ceremony

Wiffen said in a social media post in the early hours of Monday that he was “incredibly disappointed” to miss out on being a flagbearer for the Irish team

Daniel Wiffen enjoyed parading his medals at Monday night's Champions' Walk at the Parc des Champions in Paris. Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Daniel Wiffen enjoyed parading his medals at Monday night's Champions' Walk at the Parc des Champions in Paris. Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

Irish Olympic hero Daniel Wiffen missed the closing ceremony of the Games on Sunday after being “rushed to hospital” due to a bug.

Wiffen, who won gold and bronze at the Paris Games and is one of the north’s greatest ever Olympians, said in a social media post in the early hours of Monday that he was “incredibly disappointed” to miss out on being a flagbearer for the Irish team.

“Thanks everyone who reached out, I’m incredibly disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to be flag bearer last night,” Wiffen posted on X.

“Yesterday I rushed to hospital as I was very unwell with a bug that I am being treated for, and am feeling better now. I hope everyone enjoys the evening and I hope to be well enough to seeing everyone when we get home.”

The Magheralin man will receive a hero’s welcome in the village this week as he returns home, and also spoke on the social media site of achieving his childhood dream of winning Olympic gold.

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“They say every child has a dream, to pursue the dream is in every child’s hands to make it a reality,” he said.

“I had the dream of becoming an Olympic Champion. I put the work in every day and I’m so happy to say that I have accomplished my childhood dream.



“However behind every child you have a support team of friends, family, coaches, teammates who encourage and help make your dream a reality.

“So I would firstly like to thank my parents who sacrificed their own lives to make my dream a reality. My best friends and teammates who supported and pushed me to achieve my dream.

“My coaches, especially Andi Manley, you created the journey and allowed me to push myself until I had achieved my dream.

“Now Paris 2024 is over and I head back to Ireland I can finally reflect and thank everyone for the support across the past weeks and I’m happy to say I’m bringing a Gold and Bronze home.”