Ireland's Olympic 800m free champion Daniel Wiffen shadowed Hungarian Salan Zarkany for 58 of the 60 lengths of the 1500m freestyle final before sprinting past on his way to retaining the European s/c crown on day 3 in Lublin, Poland.

The session witnessed a double-Dutch gold for Marritt Steenbergen, who first down Katinka Hosszu's 2017 ER in the 100IM then Sarah Sjöström's 2017 ER & Federica Pellegrini's 2009 meet mark in the 200m free for two title within 90mins. On the all-time ranking lists, that meant a rise from 7th to 2nd in the 100IM and from 22nd to 3rd in the 200 free. Steenbergen also claimed bronze in the 4x50 mixed free relay:

Steenbergen’s Double Dutch Gold In European Record Times: 200IM Then 200 Free

Marritt Steenbergen, of The Netherlands, rose to all-time No2 by taking down Katinka Hosszu’s 2017 ER in the 100m medley & was back less than 90 minutes later to take down Sarah Sjöström’s 2017 ER & Federica Pellegrini’s meet mark from 2009 in the 200m free in Lublin

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Meanwhile, Ireland will enter the second half of the meet with two titles, courtesy of Wiffen and John Shortt's record-breaking victory in the 20om backstroke yesterday, while Ella McCartney set up the chance of a third title when she checked into lane 4 for the 200m breaststroke showdown tomorrow.

Irish History Maker Shortt Sets World Junior Record For First Senior Gold Of Career

The 1:47.89 World junior record in the 200m backstroke also means that Shortt is now also the European junior and European senior championship record holder. Neither the international standards Shortt set nor the title he won today have ever been owned by an Irishman before

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

The splits tell the cat-and-mouse tale of a race for the title that ended 14:13.96 to 14:15.51 in Wiffen's favour. The battle for bronze went to Tokyo 2020ne Olympic bronze medallist over 1500m, Germany's Florian Wellbrock, who claimed marathon gold at the same Games. Hungary's second contender, David Betlehem fell 0.39sec shy of the podium:

There are two competitions that Wiffen - now training in his first season in the United States after being developed at home before rising to champion status at Loughborough University - would still like to add to his gold collection: both will unfold next year when he races for Ireland at the European long-course Championships and Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games.

Coach Insight Into The Rise Of Wiffen:

On The Trail Of Excellence With Dr. Peyrebrune

“I feel very fortunate to have had so many mentors ... From Turner to Sweetenham, Armiger and Titley, McNulty and Marshall, Furniss and full circle to Manley; all these coaches have had a profound and long-lasting impact on my knowledge and experience” - Mike Peyrebrune - Part 2

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord