Ahmed Hafnaoui is the African record holder in the long course 400-metre and 1500-metre freestyle, and the short course 800-metre and 1500-metre freestyle events.
25 Facts About Ahmed Hafnaoui
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Ahmed Hafnaoui competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal in the men's 400-metre freestyle.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui 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.
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Olympic and World Champion Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui has accepted a voluntary provisional suspension after an assertion of an anti-doping rules violation from the International Testing Agency.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui was suspended for missing at least three random doping tests in a 12-month period.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui finished 8th in the final of the 400 m freestyle at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui competed as a 16-year-old at the 2018 World Championships in the 400 meters, and the 1500 meters, but failed to make the final in either events.
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At the age of 20, Ahmed Hafnaoui competed at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, and took gold in the 800 m freestyle, as well as winning gold for the 1500 m freestyle with the second-fastest 1500 free time in history of 14:31.54.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui's father, Mohamed Ahmed Hafnaoui, was a Tunisian national team basketball player.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui gravitated towards swimming rather than his father's sport of basketball in spite of the fact that there were just three 50-metre pools in all of Tunisia.
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When he was 12 years of age, Ahmed Hafnaoui began training with the national swim program.
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At the African Championships in Algiers, Algeria, Ahmed Hafnaoui competed in the 800 meter and 1,500 meter freestyle events, as well as the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle events.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui placed third in the 800 meter freestyle, 1,500 meter freestyle, and 4x100 meter men's freestyle, as well as second in the 4x200 freestyle.
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At the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ahmed 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.
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At the World Championships Short Course in Hangzhou, China, Ahmed 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.
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Ahmed 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 7:49.08 and sixth in the 1,500 meter freestyle with a time of 15:16.04.
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Ahmed 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.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui is only the third swimmer in history to win an Olympic gold medal out of the 8th lane, the slowest qualifying lane.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui placed joint 10th in the 800 meter freestyle, missing qualification for the final.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui entered to compete in the 400 metre freestyle and 1500 metre freestyle events.
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On Day five, Ahmed Hafnaoui ranked second in the 1500 metre freestyle prelims heats, qualifying for the final with a time of 14:25.77.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui won the silver medal in the final of the 1500 metre freestyle on day six in an African record time of 14:10.94.
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On 11 January 2023, Ahmed Hafnaoui won the gold medal in the 800-metre freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, with a time of 7:53.10, which was over three full seconds faster than second-place finisher American Robert Finke.
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At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan, Ahmed Hafnaoui won gold in the 800-metre and 1500-metre freestyle events, and silver in the 400-metre freestyle.
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Ahmed Hafnaoui will attend Indiana University in fall 2023 as a member of their men's swimming team.