Ahmed Hafnaoui

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Ahmed Hafnaoui
Personal information
Full nameAhmed Ayoub Hafnaoui
National team Tunisia
Born (2002-12-04) 4 December 2002 (age 19)
Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
Height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
CoachJobrane Touili
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Tunisia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 400 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Silver medal – second place 2021 Abu Dhabi 1500 m freestyle
African Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Algiers
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Algiers 800 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Algiers 1500 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Algiers 4×100 m freestyle

Ahmed Ayoub Hafnaoui (Arabic: أحمد أيوب حفناوي[romanization needed]; born 4 December 2002) is a Tunisian swimmer. He competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal in the men's 400-metre freestyle.[2] 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.[3] Hafnaoui was the only Tunisian to win Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.[4][5]

He finished 8th in the final of the 400 m freestyle at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.[6]

Hafnaoui competed as a 16-year old at the 2018 World Championships (SC) in the 400 meters and the 1500 meters, but failed to make the final in either event. As of 2021, he was ranked No. 3 in the 400 meter freestyle.[7]

Career[]

Early life[]

Hafnoui's father, Mohamed Hafnaoui, was a Tunisian national basketball player. When Hafnaoui was 12, he joined the national swimming program of Tunisia.[8]

2018[]

At the African Championships in Algiers, Algeria, Hafnaoui competed in the 800 meter and 1,500 meter freestyle events, as well as the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle events.[2] 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).[2]

At the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Hafnaoui competed in the 200 meter, 400 meter, and 800 meter 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.[2]

At the World Championships Short Course in Hangzhou, 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.[2]

2019[]

Hafnaoui competed in the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1,500 meter freestyle events at the World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary; he placed fourth in the 800 meter freestyle with a time of 7:49.09 and sixth in the 1,500 meter freestyle with a time of 15:16.04.[2]

2021[]

Hafnaoui competed in the 400 meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan where he placed first with a time of 3:43.36.[2][9] 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 in December as part of the 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[10] He entered to compete in the 400 metre freestyle and 1500 metre freestyle events.[1] 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.[11] Day five, Hafnaoui ranked second in the 1500 metre freestyle prelims heats, qualifying for the final with a time of 14:25.77.[12] 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.[13] His time at the 800 metre mark also set a new African record in the 800 metre freestyle at 7:33.69.[14]

Awards and honours[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b FINA (14 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Entries Book". Omega Timing. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Swimming HAFNAOUI Ahmed". Tokyo 2020. July 25, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  3. ^ "Slowest to qualify, Tunisian Hafnaoui wins Olympic swimming gold". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Merrit (July 25, 2021). "A Young Tunisian Shocks The Swimming Field To Win Olympic Gold". NPR. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  5. ^ "Tunisia wins Africa's 1st gold Olympic medal". The African Mirror. 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  6. ^ Stubbs, Roman (25 July 2021). "Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui's gold medal surprised him, too". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. ^ "fina.org | Official FINA Website". FINA - Fédération Internationale De Natation. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  8. ^ "Five things to know about Olympic champ Ahmed Hafnaoui". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  9. ^ "Shock as Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia powers to gold in 400m freestyle". the Guardian. 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  10. ^ "Tunisia's Olympic gold medal hero Ahmed Hafnaoui to race at FINA World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi". Arab News. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  11. ^ FINA (16 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 400m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  12. ^ FINA (20 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  13. ^ FINA (21 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's 1500m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  14. ^ Hamann, Michael (21 December 2021). "Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui Breaks Mellouli's African 800, 1500 Records". SwimSwam. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Top 10 moments". FINA. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  16. ^ "What we learned: Swimming wrap-up from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Olympics.com. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  17. ^ Serowik, Lauren (1 December 2021). "Swimming World December 2021 Presents – 2021 World Swimmers of the Year: Caeleb Dressel and Emma McKeon – Available Now!". Swimming World. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

External links[]

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