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Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui, the reigning Olympic gold medallist in 400m freestyle, will not compete at Paris Olympics 2024. Tunisian Olympic Committee head Mehrez Boussayene made the announcement and it was confirmed by Ahmed Hafnaoui himself, according to Africa Aquatics.
Africa Aquatics, the continental governing body, have also confirmed on their official website that the swimming champion will not be a part of the Summer Games in Paris. According to the report, Hafnaoui had declined to resume training in the United States, where he was previously based (via ESPN).
Interestingly, the Tunisian Olympic Committee and the national swimming federation decided not to comment on the matter. Hafnaoui’s representative also didn’t provide any comment.
Notably, Ahmed Hafnaoui was part of the training sessions in the latter half of 2023 under former US team head coach Mark Schubert. However, he informed reporters at the World Championships in Doha in February that he had returned home to Tunisia due to visa issues.
Ahmed Hafnaoui failed to reach the World Championships finals in Doha
Notably, Ahmed Hafnaoui created headlines after winning the gold medal in the 400m freestyle event at Tokyo Olympics in 2021 despite being the slowest qualifier in the final.
Also, he secured the 800m and 1,500m freestyle titles at the World Championships in 2023 in Fukuoka and was the runner-up in the 400m freestyle event behind Australia’s Sam Short.
In the Championships 2023, he clocked 7:37.00 seconds in 800 free and 14:31.54 seconds in 1500 free while he secured a timing of 3:40.70 seconds in 400 free to end as runner-up.
However, he failed to reach the final in all three events at the last World Championships in Doha in February 2024. 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) as Doha meet was his last event.
Interestingly, without Hafnaoui, swimming's medal projections would look different for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
