Ahmed Jaouadi Carries Tunisian Distance Tradition En Route to African Male Swimmer of Year Recognition
Twenty years ago, Ous Mellouli emerged as a global star from an unusual locale. The Tunisian initially established himself as a world-class performer in the 400-meter individual medley and 400 freestyle, and eventually extended his success to the longer distance events and open-water swimming. His presence on multiple international podiums, including a pair of Olympic titles, was a huge achievement for aspiring swimmers from Northern Africa.
Between the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 2023 World Championships, Ahmed Hafnaoui placed Tunisia back on the major-competition map. After capturing the gold medal in the 400 freestyle at the Tokyo Games, Hafnaoui flourished at the World Champs in Fukuoka, winning gold in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, and silver in the 400 freestyle.
The latest Tunisian dynamo? Ahmed Jaouadi.
At the 2025 World Championships, Jaouadi proved himself the class of the world’s distance freestylers, as he secured a pair of titles in dominant fashion. The 20-year-old first defeated the field in the 800 freestyle behind a mark of 7:36.88, which was good for a three-second triumph over Germany’s Sven Schwarz (7:39.96). Jaouadi’s time over 16 laps vaulted him to the No. 3 performer in event history. As an encore, Jaouadi added the gold medal in the 1500 freestyle, which he covered in 14:34.41. The Tunisian again topped Schwarz, this time by more than a second, and the effort moved him to sixth in the all-time rankings.
Jaouadi’s distance double at the World Champs in Singapore has earned him Swimming World’s African Male Swimmer of the Year award. Jaouadi secured the recognition over South African Pieter Coetze, who packaged his own sensational week at Worlds. Coetze was the world champ in the 100 backstroke, and tacked on silver medals in the 50 backstroke and 200 backstroke.
The 2025 campaign marks the second straight year in which Jaouadi has been recognized by Swimming World as its African Male Swimmer of the Year, so it’s not like his surge to world champion was a surprise. In 2024, Jaouadi advanced to the finals of the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle at the Olympic Games in Paris, placing fourth and sixth, respectively. He also won a pair of medals at the 2024 World Short Course Championships, including gold in the 1500 freestyle.
However, Jaouadi certainly took a major step forward over the past 12 months, and he is undoubtedly one of the frontrunners in the chase for gold at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He is now training and competing at the University of Florida, a setting that also includes distance stars Katie Ledecky and Bobby Finke, the reigning Olympic champion in the 1500 freestyle.
“I knew that everyone was struggling and feeling the pain,” Jaouadi said of the 1500 freestyle at Worlds. “I wasn’t the only one. My body was in a lot of pain. But through my mind is that I want this medal and I want to win it. I just tried being the strongest one mentally. It was a good one, because all of the boys swam a good race. In Tunisia, we don’t typically have a lot of medalists in this event, because there’s not a lot of swimmers from Tunisia, and of course I’m proud to represent my country and get the medal.”