Swim king Hafnaoui wants to be Tunisia’s greatest Olympian

TUNIS: Double world champion swimmer Ahmed Hafnaoui said Wednesday he wants to become Tunisia’s greatest ever Olympian at the Paris Games next year. The 20-year-old, who captured the 800m and 1,500m freestyle golds at the world championships in Japan last week, said he wants to “break the record for the Tunisian having the most medals and break all the world records.” Long-distance runner Mohammed Gammoudi is Tunisia’s most successful Olympian with four medals between 1964 and 1972.

Hafnaoui already has one Olympic gold courtesy of his 400m triumph in Tokyo in 2021. At the world championships last week in Fukuoka, he also claimed silver in the 400m.

“Everyone should believe in themselves and to work, to make sacrifices in order to be able to succeed,” Hafnaoui told reporters on his return to Tunisia from Japan. At the Paris Olympics next year, he said he may also enter the 5km and 10km open water swimming events as well the 200m freestyle in the pool.