2023 World Aquatics Championships: Tunisia’s Champion Hafnaoui bags men’s 800m freestyle gold medal

Ahmed Hafnaoui, Tunisian athlete and reigning Olympic champion of men’s 400m freestyle, made a name for himself Wednesday July 26 as he won the gold medal in men’s 800m freestyle at World Aquatics Championships happening in the Japanese city of Fukuoka.
Hafnaoui upset Australia’s Samuel Short, the world reigning 400m champion and USA’s Bobby Finke.
The 20-year old Tunisian touched the wall at 7:37.00. “It’s too much adrenaline when you see all these guys next to you just battling for the gold, especially the 400m world champion Sam Short, when you know he’s pretty fast in the last 100m, so you just wait to the last 50m and try to win”, Hafnaoui said in a post-race press Conference about his surge in the last meters.
“We were chatting a lot about going as fast as I can in the last 50m, and I think I have more speed than the other guys. I just put my head in the water and just went fast.”
With this win, Hafnaoui goes back to the top of the podium after winning the gold medal in men’s 400m freestyle at Tokyo 2022 World Championship.