Ahmed Hafnaoui
Ahmed Hafnaoui, an 18-year-old Tunisian, pulled a shocker at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as he won gold in the 400 meter freestyle swimming event.
His medal makes it the fifth gold medal ever for Tunisia and third in swimming.
His impressive performance was highlighted by a blistering finish past Australia’s Jack McLoughlin, and American Kieran Smith who took silver and bronze.
Speaking after finishing in 3 minutes, 43.26 seconds, he says, “I just can’t believe it. It’s a dream, and it became true. It was great, it was my best race ever,”
“When I hit the water, I was just thinking about the medal, not the time,” Hafnaoui added.
With the historic moment, Hafnaoui, son of former Tunisian national basketball player Mohamed Hafnaoui, became the second-youngest athlete from an African nation to win a swimming gold.
Joan Harrison of South Africa was 16 when she won the 100 backstroke at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
Hafnaoui, who started swimming at age 6, has another chance to repeat his performance in the 800 free on Thursday.
