TUNISIAN TEEN AHMED HAFNAOUI WINS SURPRISE OLYMPIC SWIMMING GOLD

Sun 25 July 2021:

All eyes were on the Tunisian teenager at the finish.

“I believe when I touched the wall and I saw myself first,” he said. “I was so surprised.”

Hafnaoui was the stunning winner of the 400-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Games on Sunday, beating a field of faster and older swimmers. The 18-year-old finished in 3 minutes, 43.26 seconds, punctuating his victory with loud yelling that echoed in the mostly empty 15,000-seat arena.

WATCH | TUNISIAN TEEN AHMED HAFNAOUI WINS SURPRISE OLYMPIC SWIMMING GOLD#AhmedHafnaoui #Tunisia #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/3Jwepv30Xk

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) July 25, 2021

Australia’s Jack McLoughlin earned silver and American Kieran Smith took bronze. The top three were separated by less than a second after the eight-lap race.

“When I hit the water, I was just thinking about the medal, not the time,” Hafnaoui said.

He squeaked into the final by 14-hundredths of a second, landing him in the far outside lane. The fastest qualifiers were in the middle of the pool, without the ability to track Hafnaoui during the race.

A lot of people cannot believe it, not just #AhmedHafnaoui #TUN #Olympics

pic.twitter.com/m0VUb0CRe6

— Anand Datla (@SportASmile) July 25, 2021

The teen who trains in the capital of Tunis is the North Africa country’s fourth Olympic gold medalist. He’s 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 began swimming at age 6 when his father enrolled him in a swim club. His limited international experience includes an eighth-place finish in the 400 free at the 2018 Youth Olympics.

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