{"id":601348,"date":"2024-12-10T12:20:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T19:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=601348"},"modified":"2024-12-10T12:45:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T19:45:36","slug":"budapest-2024-day-1-finals-ahmed-jaouadi-heads-1500-free-fastest-heat-to-take-title-wjr-for-kuzey-tuncelli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/budapest-2024-day-1-finals-ahmed-jaouadi-heads-1500-free-fastest-heat-to-take-title-wjr-for-kuzey-tuncelli\/","title":{"rendered":"Budapest 2024, Day 1 Finals: Ahmed Jaouadi Heads 1500 Free Fastest Heat To Take Title; WJR For Kuzey Tuncelli"},"content":{"rendered":"

Budapest 2024, Day 1 Finals: Ahmed Jaouadi Heads 1500 Free Fastest Heat To Take Title; WJR For Kuzey Tuncelli<\/h4>\n

Ahmed Jaouadi c<\/strong>linched the men’s 1500 free title after heading the fastest heat on day one of the short-course worlds in Budapest.<\/p>\n

The Tunisian came home in 14:16.40 to take the gold ahead of world record-holder Florian Wellbrock<\/strong>, who’d posted 14:17.27 in the second of the slowest heats in the morning at the Duna Arena.<\/p>\n

Kuzey Tuncelli<\/strong> was third, his time of 14:20.64 a new WJR as he sliced more than seven seconds off Gregorio Paltrinieri’s<\/strong> former standard of 14:27.78 that had stood since November 2012.<\/p>\n

Jaouadi told Swimming World:\u00a0“To be honest, I wasn’t favourite, I just tried doing the heat. I wasn’t expecting to win but I was expecting to medal – I was thinking second or third but I wasn’t expecting first. It’s good.”<\/p>\n

Of how he approached the race given what Wellbrock had done this morning, he said: “I didn’t really change a lot. I was just trying to swim my race and see what happens next.”<\/p>\n

Tuncelli has had a memorable year which has seen him introduce himself on to the senior global stage with some style.<\/p>\n

While 16, the swimmer from T\u00fcrkiye won the European 1500 title ahead of Olympic silver medallist Mykhailo Romanchuk<\/strong> before claiming the European junior title in a jaw-dropping WJR of 14:41.89<\/a>. It was a national record as was his winning time of 7:48.01 in the 800 free.<\/p>\n

Weeks later, Tuncelli headed to Paris 2024<\/strong> and there he finished fifth in the longest race in the pool, lowering that short-lived WJR to 14:41.22. Now 17, Tuncelli holds both the long and short-course junior standards and has his first senior medal on the global stage.<\/p>\n

“It’s incredible to win a medal at my first World Short Course Championships,” he said. ” I wish to congratulate all of my competitors.\u00a0 It was an incredible race for me, swimming faster than the World Junior record of Gregorio Paltrinieri.”<\/div>\n
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Rather ominously for his rivals, he said: “The feeling is good, but it’s only the beginning.<\/div>\n
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“When the race started I was a bit behind and I was feeling bad, but I told myself that I was not giving up on the race and the feeling was good.\u00a0 I was very pleased with my time.\u00a0I remember racing against Mykhailo Romanchuk at the European Championships, another legend.\u00a0 Also an incredible race and that was a very good experience for me winning the gold medal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“I could not see the people cheering for us in the race, but it was great to hear them.\u00a0 I was pleased to see that\u00a0 Florian Wellbrock (GER) placed second from his swim in the morning heats. He is also a legend in this event and he came from the stands to congratulate me on the world junior record.”<\/div>\n
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