Huge swimming shock as Grant Hackett's 15-year-old record is destroyed – and you won't believe where the new holder comes from
- Grant Hackett's world record has been broken
- Daniel Wiffen broke the record in the 800 meter freestyle
- Wiffen, from Ireland, broke the lead by three seconds
Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen has broken Australian Grant Hackett's record in the 800m short course freestyle by almost three seconds.
Wiffen finished in 7 minutes and 20.46 seconds on Sunday to take gold at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania.
Hackett had held the record for 15 years after swimming 7:23.42 at the Victoria Championships on July 20, 2008.
Frenchman David Aubry was second to Wiffen in 7:30.32, while bronze went to Mykhailo Romanchuk of Ukraine in 7:31.20.
Wiffen, who had already won gold medals in the 400 meters and 1,500 meters freestyle at the championships, paid tribute to Hackett after he broke his record.
Daniel Wiffen has broken Grant Hackett's world record in the 800 meter freestyle
Hackett's record was broken by more than three seconds in stunning scenes
'I'm a big fan of Grant Hackett. He is my idol swimmer,” he told the website Swim Swam.
“I text him back and forth on Instagram and he's a really nice guy.
'That world record was so fast. Last year I was off by two and a half seconds. It was great to break it by such a big margin. It just gives perspective on how fast he was fifteen years ago.”