Ahmed Ayoub Hafnaoui (; born 4 December 2002) is a Tunisian

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. He is the African record holder in the

long course An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...

400-metre and 1500-metre freestyle, and the

short course In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration current ...

800-metre and 1500-metre freestyle events. He competed in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, where he won a gold medal in the men's 400-metre freestyle. He ranked No. 16 in the world and was the slowest qualifier for the final race but won Olympic gold with a time of 3:43.36. Hafnaoui was the only Tunisian to win Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020. He finished 8th in the final of the

400 m freestyle 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

at the

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud de 2018), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held ...

in Buenos Aires. Hafnaoui competed as a 16-year-old at the 2018 World Championships (SC) in the

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

, and the

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

, but failed to make the final in either events. In 2021, Fina had him ranked as No. 3 in the men's 400 meter freestyle. At the age of 20, Hafnaoui competed at the 2023 World Championships in

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

, and took gold in the 800 m freestyle, as well as also winning gold for the 1500 m freestyle with the second-fastest 1500 free time in history of 14:31.54.

Background

Hafnaoui's father, Mohamed Hafnaoui, was a Tunisian national team basketball player. When he was 12 years of age, he began training with the national program.

Career

2018

At the

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics *African Championships in Ath ...

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, Algeria, Hafnaoui competed in the 800 meter and 1,500 meter freestyle events, as well as the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle events. He placed third in the 800 meter freestyle (8:08.74), 1,500 meter freestyle (15:45.46), and 4x100 meter men's freestyle (3:27.92), as well as second in the 4x200 freestyle (7:31.55). At the

Youth Olympics The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, Hafnaoui competed in the

200 meter The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, 400 meter, and

800 meter The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

freestyle events; he placed eighth in the 400 meter freestyle with a time of 3:55.94 and seventh in the 800 meter freestyle with a time of 8:04.43. At the World Championships Short Course in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

, China, Hafnaoui competed in the 400 meter and 1500 meter freestyle events; he placed 19th in the 400 meter freestyle with a time of 3:45.98 and 17th in the 1500 meter freestyle with a time of 15:02.25.

2019

Hafnaoui competed in the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1,500 meter freestyle events at the World Junior Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary; he placed fourth in the 800 meter freestyle with a time of 7:49.08 and sixth in the 1,500 meter freestyle with a time of 15:16.04.

2021

Hafnaoui competed in the 400 meter freestyle at the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan, where he placed first with a time of 3:43.36. He is only the third swimmer in history to win an Olympic gold medal out of the 8th lane, the slowest qualifying lane. He also placed joint 10th in the 800 meter freestyle, missing qualification for the final. In October, Hafnauoi announced he would be competing at

Etihad Arena Etihad Arena (initially known as Yas Bay Arena while under construction) is an indoor arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, located on the Yas Bay Waterfront district of Yas Island. Designed by HOK, the capacity of the venue is 18,000 and i ...

in December as part of the 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

."Tunisia's Olympic gold medal hero Ahmed Hafnaoui to race at FINA World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi"
''

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as of ...

''. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021. He entered to compete in the 400 metre freestyle and 1500 metre freestyle events.

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

(14 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Entries Book"
''

Omega Timing Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''La Generale Watch Co.'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

''. Retrieved 15 December 2021. Starting his competition on day one of the championships, 16 December, Hafnaoui swum a 3:40.30 in the prelims heats of the 400 metre freestyle to rank tenth overall.

(16 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 400m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''

''. Retrieved 16 December 2021. On Day five, Hafnaoui ranked second in the 1500 metre freestyle prelims heats, qualifying for the final with a time of 14:25.77.

(20 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary"
''

''. Retrieved 20 December 2021. He won the silver medal in the final of the 1500 metre freestyle on day six in an African record time of 14:10.94.

(21 December 2021)
"15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved 21 December 2021. His time at the 800 metre mark also set a new African record in the 800 metre freestyle at 7:33.69.Hamann, Michael (21 December 2021)
"Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui Breaks Mellouli's African 800, 1500 Records"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' news is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012 and quickly became the most-read swimming website in the world. ...

''. Retrieved 21 December 2021.

2023

On 11 January 2023, Hafnaoui won the gold medal in the 800-metre freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

, with a time of 7:53.10, which was over three full seconds faster than second-place finisher American

Robert Finke Robert Finke (born November 6, 1999) is an American swimmer. He won two gold medals for the United States in the 2020 Summer Olympics: the men's 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle swims. Finke is known to his friends by the nickname, Bobby. ...

.Bregman, Scott (11 January 2023)
"Tunisian star Ahmed Hafnaoui returns to competition with an impressive win over Bobby Finke at TYR Swim Series in Knoxville – Results"
''

Olympics.com The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

''. Retrieved 15 January 2023. Two days later, he won the gold medal in the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 3:47.41. On the fourth day, he finished in a personal best time of 15:07.07 in the final of the 1500-metre freestyle, dropping 8.97 seconds from his previous personal best time, to win the silver medal.Hy-Tek (11 January 2023)
"Meet Results: 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series – Knoxville"
''swmeets.com''. Retrieved 11 January 2023. On 1 March, he lowered his personal best time by 6.83 seconds to a 15:00.24 and won the gold medal in the 1500-metre freestyle at the second stop of the Pro Swim Series, in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, United States.

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overal ...

(1 March 2023)
"2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 1500m Freestyle Results Summary"
''

''. Retrieved 1 March 2023. The following day he won the 400-metre freestyle in a time of 3:46.02.

(2 March 2023)
"2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 400m Freestyle Final Results"
''

''. Retrieved 2 March 2023. On day four of four, he finished in 7:48.50 in the 800-metre freestyle and won the gold medal.

(4 March 2023)
"2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 800m Freestyle Results Summary"
''

''. Retrieved 4 March 2023. At the

2023 World Aquatics Championships The 2023 World Aquatics Championships, the 20th edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships, will be held in Fukuoka, Japan, between 14 to 30 July 2023. Originally scheduled to be held in 2021, the championships were postponed until May 2022 ...

held in

, Japan, Hafnaoui won gold in the 800-metre and 1500-metre freestyle events, and silver in the 400-metre freestyle. Hafnaoui will attend

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in fall 2023 as a member of their men's swimming team.

Personal best

Continental records

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Awards and honours

, Top 10 Moments:

(#1 for surprising Olympic champion title in 400 metre freestyle)"Tokyo Olympics: Top 10 moments"

. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021. *

, Top 5 Moments:

Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics The swimming competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were due to take place from 25 July to 6 August 2020 at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021. However, their official name rem ...

(#4 for

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the 400 metre freestyle)"What we learned: Swimming wrap-up from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics"
''

''. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021. * Grand officier of the

National Order of Merit of Tunisia National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(Tunisia, 2021) * ''

Swimming World ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...

'', African Swimmer of the Year (male): 2021Serowik, Lauren (1 December 2021)
"Swimming World December 2021 Presents – 2021 World Swimmers of the Year: Caeleb Dressel and Emma McKeon – Available Now!"
''

''. Retrieved 1 December 2021. * ''

'', Top 100 (Men's): 2022 (#16)Sutherland, James (20 January 2022)
"SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Men's #20–11"
''

''. Retrieved 20 January 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hafnaoui, Ahmed 2002 births Living people People from Gafsa Governorate Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Tunisian male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for Tunisia Olympic gold medalists for Tunisia Swimmers at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming