Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 400 freestyle, will not be competing at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. According to Africa Aquatics, this news was revealed by Tunisian Olympic Committee head Mehrez Bousyan on a televised sports program, and had also been confirmed by Hafnaoui himself.
Hafnaoui was one of the gold medal favorites in the 400, 800, and 1500 free events. At the 2023 World Championships, he won gold in the latter two events while taking silver in the former, becoming a top six performer of all-time in all three events.
Ahmed Hafaoui World Rankings, 2022-23 Long Course Season:
- 400 Free: #2 (3:40.70)
- 800 Free: #1 (7:37.00)
- 1500 Free: #1 (14:31.54)
Additionally, Hafnaoui also revealed that he no longer plans on training in the United States. In February, he said that he was applying for a United States visa with the intention of training with The Swim Team, Mark Schubert‘s pro group in California. This season, he was originally slated to compete collegiately with Indiana University, but stopped swimming with the team after swimming two dual meets.
Hafnaoui last competed at the 2024 World Championships, where he finished 17th in the 400 free (3:48.05), 18th in the 800 free (7:51.72), and 17th in the 1500 free (15:09.72).
Without Hafnaoui, the medal projections in the distance freestyle events are a lot different come time for Paris. The 400 free will likely be a battle between Australia’s Sam Short and Germany’s Lukas Martens, while the 800 free will be headlined by Short, Martens, Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, and the United States’ Bobby Finke. Meanwhile, Finke is now the favorite to win the 1500 free, with a personal best time that is 2.48 seconds faster than the restof the world during this Olympic cycle.
SwimSwam: Defending 400 Freestyle Olympic Champion Ahmed Hafnaoui Will Miss Paris Olympics
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