When distance freestyler Ahmed Hafnaoui [shown above on right] squeezed into the 400m freestyle final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, no one expected him to be on the podium. He had barely qualified eighth by beating the ninth place finisher by a mere 0.2 seconds in the preliminary heats.
But the Tunisian – at 18, the youngest in the final heat – most definitely had other thoughts on his mind.
He walked out confidently onto the pool deck in the Olympic final like he knew history was to be made.
Swimmers in lanes 6 and 7 took it out fast with Hafnaoui right behind, literally hiding Hafnaoui from the more favored and celebrated swimmers in the middle lanes. The race proceeded with various men taking the lead at different points, but Hafnaoui was always in contention at or near the front, occasionally flirting with the world record time.
But records were not the goal – the gold medal was.
Unpredictably, Hafnaoui blazed past to win the 400m in Tokyo.
His victory was only Tunisia’s third gold medal in any sport in history and Tunisia’s second Olympic swimming gold medalist after Oussama Mellouli [shown above on left].
Dave Salo, who coached Mellouli immediately texted his former swimmer, saying, “Look what you’ve done!“
2020 Tokyo Olympic Games 400m Freestyle Results
- Ahmed Hafnaoui, Tunisia 3:43.36
- Jack McLoughlin, Australia 3:43.52
- Kieran Smith, USA 3:43.94
- Henning Bennet Muhlleitner, Germany 3:44.07
- Felix Auboeck, Austria 3:44.07
- Gabriele Detti, Italy 3:44.88
- Elijah Winnington, Australia 3:45.20
- Jake Mitchell, USA 3:45.39
Look What You Have Done
Hafnaoui was only the third swimmer in history to win an Olympic gold medal out of lane 8 which is always reserved for the slowest qualifying swimmer.
While the freestyle awards podium at the Olympics have been traditionally populated by dominant Americans and Australians, and a handful of other countries, Mellouli forged a path from the northernmost country in Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, to the Olympic podium in both the pool and marathon swimming events.
440 yards / 400m Men’s Freestyle Olympic Champions
- 1904: Charles Daniels, USA
- 1908: Henry Taylor, Great Britain
- 1912: George Hodgson, Canada
- 1920: Norman Ross, USA
- 1924: Johnny Weissmuller, USA
- 1928: Alberto Zorrilla, Argentina
- 1932: Buster Crabbe, USA
- 1936: Jack Medica, USA
- 1948: Bill Smith, USA
- 1952: Jean Boiteux, France
- 1956: Murray Rose, Australia
- 1960: Murray Rose, Australia
- 1964: Don Schollander, USA
- 1968: Mike Burton, USA
- 1972: Brad Cooper, Australia
- 1976: Brian Goodell, USA
- 1980: Vladimir Salnikov, USSR
- 1984: George DiCarlo, USA
- 1988: Uwe Dassler, East Germany
- 1992: Yevgeny Sadovyi, United Team
- 1996: Danyon Loader, New Zealand
- 2000: Ian Thorpe, Australia
- 2004: Ian Thorpe, Australia
- 2008: Park Tae-hwan, South Korea
- 2012: Sun Yang, China
- 2016: Mack Horton, Australia
- 2020: Ahmed Hafnaoui, Tunisia
Oussama Mellouli
Mellouli, now 40, is one of the most decorated international swimming in history, winning 37 international races and finishing on the podium a remarkable 66 times from a young 16-year-old ambitious teenager to a wisened veteran world traveler at 37. In addition to competing in six Olympic Games (2000 Sydney + 2004 Athens + 2008 Beijing + 2012 London + 2016 Rio + 2020 Tokyo), he has also raced at 12 World Championships in the 200m and 400m individual medley, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5 km and 10 km events in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
His road to the Olympics took him from his home town in Tunis to Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees for two years and then to Marseille, France for a year before heading to college in California. Along the way, he represented USC at the NCAA Championships and competed in many different World Cups and Grand Prix events, Pan Arab Games, Mediterranean Games, African Swimming Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, and Africa Games.
In the open water, he competed at the RCP Tiburon Mile in San Francisco Bay, FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup in Mexico, won the 5 km and a bronze in the 10 km at the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, competed in the 10 km at both the 2015 and 2019 World Championships and the 2012 (gold medal) and 2016 Olympic 10 km qualification races both held in Portugal.
His unprecedented gold medal performance in the 10 km marathon swim that was preceded by a bronze medal finish in the 1500m at the London Olympics was coined the Mellouli Double – and is now the standard of overall swimming excellence that others from Florian Wellbrock (gold in 10 km + bronze in 1500m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) and Gregorio Paltrinieri (bronze in 10 km and silver in 800m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) have also achieved.
Mellouli’s Olympic Record
- 2020 Tokyo Olympics: 20th in the 10 km marathon swim at the age of 37 in 1:56:33.30
- 2016 Rio Olympics: 12th in the 10 km marathon swim at the age of 32 in 1:53:06.10
- 2016 Rio Olympics: 21st in the 1500m freestyle at the age of 32 in 15:07.78
- 2012 London Olympics: gold medal in the 10 km marathon swim at the age of 28 in 1:49:55.10
- 2012 London Olympics: bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle at the age of 28 in 14:40.31
- 2008 Beijing Olympics: gold medal in the 1500m freestyle at the age of 24 in 14:40.84
- 2008 Beijing Olympics: 19th in the 200m freestyle at the age of 24 in 1:47.97
- 2008 Beijing Olympics: 5th in the 400m freestyle at the age of 24 in 3:43.45
- 2004 Athens Olympics: 14th in the 1500m freestyle at the age of 20 in 15:18.98
- 2004 Athens Olympics: 9th in the 200m medley at the age of 20 in 2:01.11
- 2004 Athens Olympics: 5th in the 400m medley at the age of 20 in 4:14.49
- 2000 Sydney Olympics: 43rd in the 400m medley at the age of 16 in 4:41.97
Tunisian Grit and Training Workload
A tremendous amount of hard work in the pool and in dryland training have led up to the Olympic success of both Hafnaoui and Mellouli.
Mellouli explains, “Historically, we had a good culture of training infused with a lot of grit and pride in our training. We had coaches from Romania and Germany who came through to Tunisia from the 1960’s to the 1990’s who introduced a tough Eastern European training approach to the sport.
We also had Tunisian coaches who studied at sports universities in Russia and were deeply inspired by Vladimir Salnikov who rewrote the distance freestyle world records in the 1980’s. My age group coach in Tunis was one of these Russia-educated hard-nosed coaches.
Tunisia already enjoyed some decent distance swimming success. Then I came along and ventured my way to USC. With coach Mark Schubert, I was able to lift these standards, gradually climb the world rankings, and reach the world podiums and Olympic finals, first in the 400m individual medley. Then I began working with USC coaches Dave Salo and Catherine Kase who helped me win Olympic and world championship gold medals, first in the 1500m freestyle and then in the 10 km marathon swim.
This has resonated with not only the young swimmers in Tunisia and around the region (including for example, Egyptian distance swimmers Marwan Elkamash and Ahmed Akram Mahmoud), but also with Tunisian coaches that were part of the national team and were close to me and followed my preparation closely from 2008 to 2016.
Since 2008, many have followed my career path: first high school in France, then apply to universities in the United States. Hafnaoui is one of them – he studies and trains at Indiana University. I think for any swimmer out there, competing at the NCAA Championships has become the new standard of excellence and a milestone on the road to Olympic success. [Mellouli won the NCAA Championships in the 400-yard individual medley in 2005 and was a five-time All-American as a multiple finalist in the 500-yard and 1650-yard freestyles, the 200-yard and 400 individual medleys, and relays.]
Balancing the rigorous demands of the student athlete’s life is definitely a challenge for young foreign swimmers so it is not for everybody out there.“
But the path taken by Mellouli was golden for him – and Hafaoui.
Mellouli is open to sharing his experiences with future generations of ambitious swimmers. “I am happy to give advice and speak to swimmers and their parents when they reach out to me. For example, I remember having a long conversation with Xavier Marchand, father of Leon Marchand and an Olympian and world record holder from France about his son Leon’s college choices. Leon ultimately decided to go to Arizona State University where he has been enjoying incredible success over the past few years.”
Mellouli told Swimming World Magazine, “I’m very proud of him, words can’t describe how proud I am of him. I know the 400 freestyle is a very tough event, I think my best finish was fifth. [His gold medal performance] was great for Tunisian swimming, for Arab swimming, for North African swimming.”
Similarly, Hafnaoui describes Mellouli as a legend and told Swimming World Magazine that he aspired to be like him.
With more to come.
The Mellouli legacy continues.
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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