Olympic 400m freestyle champion Ahmed Hafnaoui expressed uncertainty about his readiness to defend his title at the Paris Olympics, on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old confirmed he is suffering from an injury but did not disclose of his discomfort, though he did cast doubt over claiming yet securing another triumph at the upcoming Games.”I’m currently suffering from an injury, and I don’t know whether or not I will participate in the Olympics,” the Tunisian swimmer said. Mehrez Boussayene, head of the Tunisian Olympic Committee, also revealed he is unsure whether the star will compete.
“More than just medals, we seek above all the well-being of this young man who brought us so much joy,” he said, when asked if Hafnaoui will feature. “He will have other world competitions.” Amira, Hafnaoui’s mother, emphasised that her son’s primary priority is his recovery. “Ahmed’s absence from the Paris Olympics has not yet been confirmed,” she revealed.
“Even if he is absent, Ahmed is an Olympic champion and has achieved international recognition despite his young age, and there is still a long way to go before him to achieve the best. The priority currently is his physical and mental health.”
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Following his triumph as an 18-year-old at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Hafnaoui secured the 800m and 1500m freestyle titles at last year’s World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Should he compete in Paris this summer, he stands a chance to equal Tunisia’s prominent Olympic swimmer Oussama Mellouli, who clinched two golds and a bronze across the 2008 and 2012 Games.
Yet, he fell short of reaching the finals in all three of those events at the 2024 World Championships held in Doha in February. He had undergone training in California the previous year, he informed reporters at the Qatar event that he had returned to Tunisia, citing visa complications.
Tunisia’s most distinguished Olympic medalist remains long-distance runner Mohammed Gammoudi, who amassed four medals, including a gold in the 5,000m event in 1968, during the period spanning 1964 to 1972.