Olympic ruby medalist Ahmed Hafnaoui is a professional swimmer from Tunisia. In the short course 800-meter freestyle and 1500-meter freestyle, he holds the African record. He participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics and took first place in the men’s 400-meter freestyle event. Despite being the slowest qualifier for the championship race and having a global ranking of No. 16, he won the Olympic gold with a time of 3:43.36. At Tokyo 2020, Hafnaoui became the lone Tunisian to win an Olympic gold medal.
At the Buenos Aires 2018 Summer Youth Olympics’ 400 m freestyle final, Hafnaoui came in eighth place. At the 2018 World Championships (SC), Hafnaoui ran in the 400 and 1500 metres as a 16-year-old, but he was unable to get past the semifinals in either race. He held the third-place spot in the 400-meter freestyle as of 2021. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Hafnaoui competed in the 400-meter freestyle and finished first with a time of 3:43.36. He is only the third swimmer in Olympic history to win a gold medal in the slowest qualifying lane, the eighth. Additionally, he finished tied for tenth in the 800 metre freestyle, missing out on qualifying for the final.
Hafnauoi declared in October that he would take part in the 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, at Etihad Arena in December. He registered to take part in the 400-meter and 1500-meter freestyle competitions. He finished second in the 1500-meter freestyle final in a time that set an African record: 14:10.94. His time of 7:33.69 at the 800 metre mark also established a new 800 metre freestyle African record.