Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi Sees Massive Drop to Qualify 2nd for 800 Free Olympic Final

2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games

• Pool Swimming: July 27 – August 4, 2024
  • Open Water Swimming: August 8-9, 2024
• La Defense Arena – Paris, France
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Men’s 800-Meter Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, China (2009)
• World Junior Record: 7:43.37 – Lorenzo Galossi, Italy (2022)
• Olympic Record: 7:41.28 – Mykhailo Romanchuk, Ukraine (2021)
• 2021 Winning Time: 7:41.87 – Bobby Finke, United States
• 2021 Time to Advance to Finals: 7:47.73

Top 8

1. Daniel Wiffen (IRE) – 7:41.53
2. Ahmed Jaouadi (TUN) – 7:42.07
3. Gregorio Paltinieri (ITA) – 7:42.48
4. Elijah Winnington (AUS) – 7:42.86
5. Bobby Finke (USA) – 7:43.00
6. Sven Schwatz (GER) – 7:43.67
7. Luca de Tullio (ITA) – 7:44.07
8. David Aubry (FRA) – 7:44.59

Tunisian distance freestyler Ahmed Jaouadi made a splash in the preliminary heats of the 800 free in Paris Monday morning as he dropped over three seconds to surge to a new personal best time of 7:42.07.

His performance was the 2nd-fastest swim amongst the entire field, making him the runner-up seed heading into the final. His time also bumps him up to 19th on the ranking of all-time fastest performers.

Prior to the race, Jaouadi had a personal best time of 7:45.31, which he had just recorded at the French Elite Championships in June.

Jaouadi’s performance in the prelims is just the latest in an upwards trajectory for the 19-year-old, as he has been hitting personal bests left and right over the last few months.

In March, he dropped nearly two full seconds in his 400 free at the French Giant Series, winning the event by over two seconds, before posting a tremendous time drop in June when he took his 1500 free time from a 15:10.11 to a 14:48.69 at the French Elite Championships.

A native of Tunisia, Jaouadi’s performance in the 800 adds his name to a strong tradition of Tunisian powerhouses in the distance freestyle events, which notably includes Ahmed Hafanoui and Ous Mellouli, both of whom are also among the top 20 all-time fastest performers.

Jaouadi, who trains in France, entered the meet as the #10 seed in the 800 but has now solidified his position as one to watch in the final and a strong contender for a medal.