Ahmed Hafnaoui, Young Tunisian Swimmer Who Made First Surprise At Tokyo Olympics

JAKARTA - Ahmed Hafnaoui, an 18-year-old youth from Tunisia, amazed the swimming at the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo. Appearing in the men's 400 M freestyle final, he occupied track eight, as a non-seeded swimmer. But the competition which was held on Sunday, July 25 morning at the Tokyo Aquatics Center brought a surprise!

The 18-year-old from Tunisia became the first athlete in the Tokyo 2020 pool to make a splash, winning gold and beating the top swimmers from the US and Australia.

From track 8, he eliminated big names such as world champion Jack McLoughlin from Australia and German swimmer Henning Bennet Muhlleitner and Felix Auboeck from Austria who swam in gold tracks 4 and 5, in the men's 400 meters freestyle.

It's not an Olympic record, and it's not even a world record, but his time of 3 minutes 29.69 seconds was the fastest in the men's 400m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics.

McLoughlin himself was 3.7 seconds behind Hafnoui so he had to settle for a silver medal, while Kieran Smith of the United States got a bronze medal after becoming the third-fastest swimmer to touch the pool wall.

"I really can't believe it. It's a dream come true. It's amazing, this is my best race," Hafnaoui was quoted as saying by the BBC.

This is Tunisia's fifth gold during its participation in the Olympics, and at the same time the third from swimming.

On the morning she won this race, in her fourth and final finals for the day in the pool, another surprise came when Australia, who became the defending champion of the women's 4x100 meters relay, broke the world and Olympic records.

The quartet of brothers Bronte and Cate Campbell, Emma McKeon, and Meg Harris set a time of 3 minutes 29.69 seconds which was a new world and Olympic record.

The other two gold medals were won by American Chase Kalisz of the men's 400m individual medley after a time of 4 minutes 9.42 seconds and the host Yui Ohashi who finished fastest in the women's 400m final after recording a time of 4 minutes 2.08 seconds.

But the most surprising of all, of course, is Ahmed Hafnaoui. Moreover, when entering this final, the son of former Tunisian basketball player Mohamed Hafnaoui was the swimmer with the slowest time compared to the other seven swimmers in the final.

Before winning the gold medal, he even had the best time of his career at 3 minutes 49.9 seconds.

Hard work

But that didn't discourage him. He ramped up his pedaling and movement in the final 50 meters to become the first swimmer to touch the pool wall, which was 2.22 seconds faster than his fastest time in qualifying.

As soon as he turned to look at the electronic time board, he was shocked. I didn't think I had won this competition. He then clenched his fists in the air while pointing at the electronic timer.

When asked to explain how he managed to fly like a meteor from the beginning as a swimmer who only finished eighth in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games to become the 2020 Olympic champion, Ahmed Hafnaoui replied, "I just worked hard with my coach, that's all."

Hafnaoui became the second Tunisian to win an Olympic gold medal after long-distance swimming specialist Oussama Mellouli presented the men's 1,500 meters and 10,000 meters freestyle gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to Tunisia. It happened when Hafnaoi was only five years old.

But Hafnaoui admits that he is on good terms with his senior, who will still strengthen his country in Tokyo 2020 by competing in his specialty 10,000 meters. "I'm friends with him. He's a legend. I hope to be like him one day," he said.

Hafnaoui has already started to move towards the level where Mellouli the senior is. But still this victory still surprised him. He did not expect the Olympic gold medal to be his.

"Of course I was surprised myself. Incredible. I wasn't sure until I hit the wall and saw I was the first," said Hafnaoui as quoted by the Daily Mail.

On the other hand, Jack McLoughlin was not at all surprised by the surprise created by Hafnaoui. "It's the Olympics and anything can happen. Ahmed won and had the best time it was great, kudos to him," said McLoughlin, sporting a sportsman.

McLoughlin, who is the gold favorite for this number, also doesn't blame anyone and anything, including the difficult conditions caused by the pandemic.

He also did not complain about the strict health protocols imposed by Japan, moreover his country Australia was just as strict in implementing the COVID-19 health protocols.

He also did not want to carelessly say about doping in this event, even though the ruler of this number from China, Sun Yang, was involved in a doping scandal and was later banned from participating in international competitions, including the Tokyo Olympics.

"We've had a lot of rigorous testing, we're used to it. Since we've been here, we've had a lot of tests and Japan has done a really good thing in doping tests on everyone," McLoughlin said.

Next 800M Freestyle

The same sporty tone was conveyed by American swimmer Kieran Smith who won bronze in this event.

Smith admitted that he did not know anything about the Tunisian swimmer, but there was absolutely no doubt about the men's 400m freestyle gold medal.

"He's the Olympic 400 meters freestyle champion. That's all I know," he was quoted as saying by Reuters. "I'm very proud of him," he continued, this time in a very sporty tone.

Meanwhile, Hafnaoui, who entered Tunisia's national swimming program at the age of 12, kept a smile on his face throughout the medal ceremony, and during press conferences with journalists covering the Tokyo Olympics.

He was even asked to take a selfie by them. But on top of that high-spirited happy atmosphere, Hafnaoui praised his coaching team, who he said were working too hard.

"I am now an Olympic champion," he said.

But did you know that three years ago, La Presse was asked what his target was for the 2020 Olympics. He answered the gold medal, not the 400 meters freestyle, but the 800 meters!

He will be re-entering the Tokyo Aquatics Center swimming pool tomorrow Tuesday. He will then compete with other swimmers in the event he really wants to win the gold medal, the men's 800m freestyle.

But the Olympic champion is an average teenager who enjoys hanging out with friends and playing soccer.

He said he plans to study in the United States, a country where swimming competition is fierce enough to create superhumans in swimming pools including the legendary Micheal Phelps, or Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling.

What is clear is that Ahmed Hafnaoui's adventure will continue, not stopping at the Tokyo Olympics. The Olympics and other tournaments after this have entered the agenda book.