Irish Swimmers Wiffen, Walshe Earn Medals in Lublin

Irish swimmers Daniel Wiffen and Ellen Walshe secured medals at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin, Poland, on Saturday, adding to Ireland's growing tally at the meet. Wiffen claimed bronze in the men's 800-meter freestyle, while Walshe earned silver in the women's 200-meter individual medley.

Wiffen, the 24-year-old Olympic champion from Northern Ireland, finished third in the 800-meter final with a time of 7 minutes, 30.14 seconds. Hungary's Zalan Sarkany won gold in 7:26.84, followed by Belgium's Lucas Henveaux in 7:28.03 for silver. Wiffen started strongly, holding second after the opening 200 meters, but dropped to sixth at the halfway mark as he struggled to maintain the pace. He mounted a late surge, climbing to second with 50 meters remaining, before fading slightly in the final stretch to settle for bronze. The performance marked his third medal of the championships, following silver in the 400-meter freestyle earlier in the week and gold in the 1500-meter freestyle on Thursday.

The 1500-meter victory came in 14:13.96, edging out Sarkany by 1.55 seconds for gold, with Germany's Florian Wellbrock taking bronze. Wiffen, who holds the short-course...