Wiffen eighth in 800m final at World Championships

Olympic 800m freestyle champion Daniel Wiffen could not defend his world title as he finished eighth in the final in Singapore.

Wiffen, from Northern Ireland, started brightly and led after 300 metres, but was soon reeled in and faded as the race progressed.

Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi took the gold medal with a time of 7:36.88, ahead of the German pair of Sven Schwartz and Lukas Martens.

Wiffen finished last with a time of 7:58.56 after fading badly in the second half of the race.

He had spoken about being diagnosed with a bout of appendicitis in the build-up to the Worlds, and although he avoided surgery, he said he felt "weak" after scraping through to the final as the last qualifier in his his semi-final.

A year to the day since his Olympic triumph, Ireland swimmer Wiffen came out of the blocks fast and led the race after the opening 100 metres, when he was on world record pace from the outside lane.

He maintained his advantage at the 300m mark, but was soon caught and passed by Jaouadi, Schwatrz, Martens and his American Olympic rival Bobby Finke.

The 24-year-old continued to fall away as Jaouardi stretched his margin out front, and Wiffen would eventually come home in eighth place - some 22 seconds behind the Tunisian.

Jaouadi's time was the third-fastest ever in the discipline after a blistering final 400m.

Despite a disappointing defence of his 800m crown, Wiffen will try to reclaim his 1500m freestyle title later in the championships.