Loughborough University-based swimmer, Daniel Wiffen, runs through his daily routine as an elite swimmer training for Paris.
The 23-year-old current student starts his day at 5.45am in preparation for the Paris games. His extensive training programme allows him full use of the campus, showcasing the facilities Loughborough University has to offer its world-class athletes, including the swimming pool and Powerbase gym.
Aside from training, Daniel expresses his love of gaming, striking a healthy balance between being an elite athlete and a student at Loughborough.
“People don’t know I’m ‘the swimmer’, it’s quite nice… I go in and don’t think about swimming. It kind of takes your mind off it, which is good in sport.”
His intense training regime is accompanied by a positive group dynamic between himself and the elite swimmers he trains with, fostering a constructive relationship between them in, as well as outside of the pool.
Wiffen explains the makeup of the Loughborough Sport ecosystem, evidently enjoying the time he spends with his training group and the resources available to him at the University. “It’s my fourth year… I don’t really see myself leaving time anytime soon; I’m enjoying it so much.”
5.45am – wake up/breakfast
6.15am – dry land work, stretching
6.45am-8.45am – 8km swim
9am-10am – Powerbase gym session
11am-12pm – nap
12pm-1pm – lunch at the Elite Athlete Centre (EAC)
1pm- gaming with teammates
2pm-4pm – lecture
5.30pm-8pm – swimming training
8pm-9pm – dinner at EAC
9.30pm – go to bed
For all the latest Loughborough news around major global sporting events, visit the University’s dedicated website here: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/sport/athletes-global-stage/
Join the conversation on social media with the hashtag #Lboro2Paris
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 24/113
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2024 QS World University Rankings – the eighth year running – and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.
Loughborough is ranked 6th in The UK Complete University Guide 2025, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2024 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
