31 Facts About Oussama Mellouli

Oussama "Ous" Mellouli is a Tunisian swimmer who competes in the freestyle and medley events.

Oussama Mellouli is a three-time Olympic medalist, is an African record holder, and trains with the USC Trojans team based at the University of Southern California, where he studied as a computer science undergraduate and swam collegiately.

Since returning from an Adderall-related drugs ban, Oussama Mellouli was the 1500 m freestyle World champion at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships with a winning time of 14:37.28, then the second-best performance of all time.

Oussama Mellouli is the first Olympian to win medals in both the open water and the pool in a single Olympics.

Oussama Mellouli enrolled in USC Viterbi School of Engineering in 2003 after graduating from the Lycee Technologique du Rempart in Marseille, France.

Oussama Mellouli is a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program.

Oussama Mellouli won 1 silver medal in the 400m IM at the 2001 Mediterranean Games, in Tunis, Tunisia.

Oussama Mellouli first established himself on the world scene at the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, where he won a bronze in the 400m Individual Medley finishing behind Laszlo Cseh and a world record performance from Michael Phelps.

Oussama Mellouli further distinguished himself at the 2004 FINA Short Course World Championships in Indianapolis, USA, where he won the first international-level gold medal in swimming for Tunisia, in the 400m IM, finishing over a second ahead of second and third-place finishers Robin Francis and Eric Shanteau.

Oussama Mellouli was able to better his Athens mark with his bronze medal swim in the 400 IM event at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Canada.

Oussama Mellouli won the bronze medal in the 400 freestyle at that same event.

Oussama Mellouli won three gold medals at the XVth Mediterranean Games in Almeria, Spain.

On 1 December 2006, Oussama Mellouli beat Michael Phelps in the 400m IM at the US Open in West Lafayette: Mellouli clocked 4:15.61, ahead of Phelps with 4:18.32.

Oussama Mellouli set a new African record in the 400 meter individual medley.

Oussama Mellouli was a finalist in the 400 m individual medley, where he originally finished fourth in 4:11.68.

Oussama Mellouli came into the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China entered two events, the 400m and 1500m freestyle events.

Oussama Mellouli would go on to win the 1500m freestyle and set a new African record.

Oussama Mellouli won 5 gold medals at the XVI Mediterranean Games in Pescara, Italy.

Oussama Mellouli won 4 medals at the 2010 FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai, UAE.

Oussama Mellouli won 16 medals at the 2011 Pan Arab Games in Doha, Qatar.

Oussama Mellouli won 2 medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, UK.

Oussama Mellouli became the first person to win medals in the pool and open-water swimming in the same Olympics.

Oussama Mellouli won 1 gold medal in the 5km marathon at the 2013 World Championships, in Barcelona, Spain.

Oussama Mellouli participated in two competitions in Rio 2016 Summer Olympics but did not win any medals.

Oussama Mellouli competed in the 10km marathon, finishing in 12th place with 1:53:06.

In July 2021, Oussama Mellouli initially decided to withdraw from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo due to a dispute with the Tunisian federation for alleged forgery since 2017.

On Wednesday, August 4,2021, Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli finished 20th in the 10 km open water marathon at the Tokyo Olympics.

Oussama Mellouli was thus unable to earn another medal on his sixth appearance at the Olympic Games.

Oussama Mellouli has since admitted that he took the ADD medication Adderall, a stimulant and a form of amphetamine.

Oussama Mellouli did not have a prescription for the drug, having claimed to have received it from another USC student shortly before the US Open.

Oussama Mellouli argued that he took the pill to help himself with writing a term paper in the days leading up to the weekend US Open meet and that the drug was not intended as a performance-enhancing substance for competitive swimming.