RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sources"Olympic champion is feeling rusty at the Commonwealth Games."
Those were the words of 800m freestyle Olympic gold medallist Daniel Wiffen, but they equally could have come from or been applied to his fellow Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan on the pommel horse.
It was meant to be a magical Monday for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, with both Paris 2024 champions in action.
The expectation was that they could be the two, given their previous winning pedigree, to land NI's first two gold medals in Glasgow.
It was more mediocre than magic though as both struggled in their favourite events, so much so they did not even make it to the podium, with McClenaghan sixth in the pommel horse final and Wiffen fourth in the 800m decider.
McClenaghan was a master of his own downfall, starting slowly with his new routine and finishing in even worse fashion, but he was not too downcast by his performance and wanted to focus instead on how it was a step towards a bigger goal with the next Olympics two years away.
He said that while the routine obviously "didn't go to plan" it was "another stepping stone to what's to come" on his journey back to the ultimate pinnacle of retaining Olympic gold.
Wiffen is also building for two years' time, but he was much more self-critical, stating that he "didn't know what was going on" with his display as he was outclassed by the strong Australian trio of Sam Short, Benjamin Goedemans and Matthew Galea.
"They [the Australians] have come to play, and I haven't to be honest," Wiffen said.
"I thought I would at least be a 7:42 time coming into this [he swam 7:48.82] and honestly I just felt a bit rusty coming into this.
"I did try to push it, but I just felt my stroke was all over the place."
McClenaghan finishes sixth in pommel horse final
Wiffen finishes fourth in tough 800m final
'The main goal is gold in LA so we're working towards that'
Besides their struggles on Monday, it is easy to draw parallels between the two that stretch beyond their status as Olympic gold medallists.
They were both operating at the very peak of their powers at the end of the last Olympic cycle in 2024 which helped to yield golds for both in Paris.
Then injuries struck and hit hard last year.
McClenaghan opted to go for surgery on a troublesome shoulder problem that kept him out of action for the entirety of 2025.
The Commonwealth Games are his first major event since Paris almost two years ago.
Wiffen suffered from appendicitis in June 2025 which had lasting effects that led him to pull out of the Worlds in July last year.
While he won gold in the 1500m in the European Short Course Championships, he was third in the 800m at the same meet in Lubin.
Both are now in the position of having to use 2026 to rebuild, and a medal of any colour in their favourite events would no doubt have strengthened both their feelings of being on the way back to the very top.
McClenaghan had a simple solution to his issues: to go back to the gym to "progress even more" with the Europeans upcoming in August and the Worlds in October.
Wiffen may need to do some further self-examination to find the cure to his ails, with the "nerves" he spoke about post-race obviously not being used as fuel for good performances as he felt he was "not handling them well".
While McClenaghan will have to wait until next month to write the wrongs of his display in the Glasgow International Arena, Wiffen has a chance to bounce back quickly and in style with a medal in the 1500m final on Wednesday.
His previous silver in the Commonwealth Games came in that event four years ago and a repeat at Tollcross Swimming Centre later this week would be a major confidence boost before the Europeans in two weeks' time.
"I'm going to learn from this," Wiffen said. "Normally, when I have a bad couple of swims the 1500m brings a brighter side out of it, so we will see how it goes on Wednesday.
"I hope I can go into it with a positive mindset and see what happens. I'll hopefully come back with a medal, then I will be happy.
"The main goal is the gold in LA so we're working towards that."
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