Wiffen had an incredible year in the water, winning the 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Games and becoming the first Northern Irish athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in 36 years.

The Team Ireland swimmer finished with a bronze medal in the 1500m to top off an incredible Games, setting an Olympic record time of seven minutes 38.19 seconds in the 800m.

With his victory in the 800m, he became the first Northern Ireland athlete to win a gold medal since Lady Mary Peters, a pentathlete at the 1972 Games, and the first Northern Ireland athlete to win a gold medal since Stephen Martin and Jimmy Kirkwood with the GB hockey team in 1988.

At the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February, the 23-year-old from Magheralin in County Armagh highlighted his Olympic potential by winning gold in the 800m and 1500m races.

Wiffen said, "It's amazing," as he arrived home for Christmas and was given the trophy by his mother Rachel.

"One of the largest honours in sports is Sports Personality of the Year, which is quite cool. I'm shocked because I had no idea. We're going to have a wonderful Christmas, and I'll put it in the trophy cabinet.What a wonderful year it has been.

It's even more enjoyable to celebrate Christmas with relatives. We all put in effort to win the Olympics, and we succeeded. It's time to rejoice now.