Ahmed Hafnaoui Named Swimming World’s African Male Swimmer of the Year; Targeting World Records
Ahmed Hafnaoui has earned the right to dream big.
As he left Fukuoka, Japan, this summer, medals jangling around his neck, the 20-year-old Tunisian had his choice of goals. He opted for not just the one he was closest to, but the one that might hold the most historic resonance: the world record in the men’s 1500 freestyle.
“It’s the biggest goal,” Hafnaoui said. “That’s what we’re going to work for until Paris 2024.”
Hafnaoui’s performances at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships made that goal attainable. He brushed within 52-hundredths of the mark set in 2012 by now-suspended Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, Hafnaoui edging American Bobby Finke by 5-hundredths in a race for the ages in Fukuoka.
That swim and many like it have made Hafnaoui arguably the distance swimmer everyone will be chasing when the Paris Olympics begin.
His global status isn’t just massive for an African swimmer. He holds the world title in the 800 and 1500 free plus the Olympic crown in the 400 free. He’s the fastest swimmer from the continent in all three events in a textile suit, with only his idol Ous Mellouli’s super-suited 800 free record standing between him and a clean sweep.
When Hafnaoui won gold in Tokyo two years ago, it was an amazing story. Here was an 18-year-old, still ungainly in his 6-5 frame, from a non-traditional swimming power, shocking the world in the 400 free from an outside lane to claim gold in a wide open race.
But the second act he’s authored has been just as impressive. He’s dealt with adversity, having to wait a year to compete for the University of Indiana while still training in Bloomington—and only this fall getting into his first collegiate meets. He didn’t race for much of 2022, skipping the World Championships and the Mediterranean Games. The cynic may have wondered if his appearance on the global stage was destined to be a one-off.
Instead, Hafnaoui showed in 2023 to the mix of raw ability, desire and mental toughness to be a perennial contender.
His Fukuoka journey followed a similar roller coaster. In Tokyo the year before, he’d been second after 350 meters only to rally past an Aussie (Jack McLoughlin) in the final 50. In Fukuoka, Hafnaoui led as the field turned for home. But revenge came from Down Under courtesy of Sam Short, who tipped Hafnaoui at the wall by 2-hundredths for gold.
The Tunisian used that disappointment the rest of the way.
“The silver in the 400—I think that’s part of this win,” Hafnaoui said after the 800. “We were focusing the last day on just going as hard as I can on the last 50.”
He then managed to beat Finke, the reigning double Olympic champion, in the 1500 free, holding off a charge by the man who has elevated final-50 rallies to an artform.
Hafnaoui is at the vanguard of distance events that are advancing by leaps and bounds. The three medalists in each distance event in Fukuoka were all faster than the gold-winning times at the last Olympics. (The 800 was particularly ludicrous, with silver-winning Short setting an Oceania record, Finke an American record for bronze, Daniel Wiffen the European record in fourth and Lukas Martens the German record for fifth.) Sun’s world record is living on borrowed time. A 3:39 looks possible in the 400 free for the first time since Paul Biedermann was enrobed in polyurethane.
If Hafnaoui is the one to break through any of those barriers, no one should be surprised. He’s already weathered plenty in the voyage between his first and second Olympics. And he’s charting a path that could make him one of the greatest swimmers Africa has ever produced.
TOP 5 AFRICAN (Men)
- AHMED HAFNAOUI, Tunisia (12)……….. 60
- Pieter Coetze, South Africa………………………. 46
- Abdelrahman Sameh, Egypt……………………… 33
- Matthew Sates, South Africa…………………….. 29
- Marwan El Kamash, Egypt………………………. 12
(First-place votes in parentheses)