Olympic Gold Medalist Ahmed Hafnaoui Will Not Compete in Paris

Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia competes in rde Men's Freestyle 400m Heats during rde 20rd World Aquatics Championships at rde Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 23rd, 2023.

Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Olympic Gold Medalist Ahmed Hafnaoui Will Not Compete in Paris

Defending Olympic gold medalist Ahmed Hafnaoui will not compete in this summer’s Paris Olympics.

Tunisian Olympic Committee leader Mehrez Bousyan made the announcement on a sports television show. Africa Aquatics confirmed the news with Ahmed Hafnaoui, who also said he has declined to resume training in the U.S.

Hafnaoui, who won gold in the 400 freestyle in Tokyo, would have been a medal contender in the 400 freestyle, 800 free and 1500 free in Paris.

He won gold in the 800 and 1500 at the 2023 World Championships and was the silver medalist in the 400.

His most recent international competition was the 2024 World Championships, where he finished 17th in the 400 free (3:48.05), 17th in the 1500 free (15:09.72) and 18th in the 800 free (7:51.72).

He had originally enrolled at Indiana University in 2022, but was ruled ineligible to swim for academic reasons until 2023. He started the season with the team but did not finish it.

Ahmed Hafnaoui was one of the surprise and feel-good stories of the Tokyo Olympic games in a huge moment for Tunisia and the entire continent of Africa.

Hafnaoui’s father, Mohamed, was a professional basketball player with the Tunisian national team. The elder Hafnaoui put his son in a local swimming club and from there, Hafnaoui began to hone his craft. At the age of 12, he joined Tunisia’s national swimming program. One of Hafnaoui’s biggest inspirations in swimming was Oussama Mellouli, the only other Tunisian swimmer to win gold. Mellouli won gold in the 1500 freestyle at the 2008 Games and was the 10k open-water champion at the 2012 Games.

Hafnaoui took his turn as the face of Tunisia in the past few years.

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