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.”
