Ahmed Hafnaoui targeting 1500m world record at 2024 World Aquatics Championships: “I’m so close”
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, the Tunisian Olympic 400m freestyle champion signalled his intention to rewrite history in Doha.
Ahmed Hafnaoui has entered the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships with big ambitions in mind.
The Tokyo 2020 swimming Olympic champion told Olympics.com during training that he is targeting the same three events (400m, 800m, 1,500m freestyle) at these Championships as he did in Fukuoka last year, but additionally has his sights set on breaking the 1500m freestyle world record.
Last year, the Tunisian was on the verge of an historic race until 200m from the finish. In the end, he came within 0.52s of the all-time mark set by Sun Yang in the final of the London 2012 Olympic Games but still won by 0.05s ahead of United States’ Bobby Finke.
As soon as he left the pool, he spoke of his desire to become the fastest ever in the 1500m freestyle, and it is apparent that his goal hasn’t changed.
“I’m trying to go as fast as I can in the 1500m because I'm so close to the world record. I’m trying to break the world record,” Hafnaoui told Olympics.com exclusively on Thursday (8 February). “I’ve put in a lot of work since the Olympics because I jumped three seconds off the 400, so I hope I can do better.”
Hafnaoui: "I think I have more speed than other people"
The 21-year-old swimmer, who recently has made the move from Indiana to California, has been a revelation ever since he first burst onto the scene at Tokyo 2020.
Then ranked 16th in the world, he was the slowest qualifier for the 400m final before blasting home in 3:43:36 to take the title.
After taking a year out in 2022 to focus on his studies, Hafnaoui then returned to the world stage at Fukuoka in 2023, and in some style.
The Tunisian topped the podium in the 800m freestyle ahead of Australia’s Sam Short and USA's Finke before outlasting Finke in the 1500m to take a second gold. However, it wouldn’t be a clean sweep for Hafnaoui after Short denied him gold in the 400m, out-touching him by 0.03 of a second.
It is fair to say something of a rivalry has subsequently developed between Hafnaoui and Finke following their tussles at Worlds, with the American claiming to be a faster finisher. That was something Hafnaoui laughed off but insisted he has been working on his finish in preparation for Doha.
“I believe that I have the fastest finish in the last 50. I've been working on my last 50, as many swimmers, my whole life. And I think I have more speed than other people. I try to go, like, as fast as I can.”
Even with his lofty ambitions, Hafnaoui hasn’t forgotten the even bigger target waiting for him in the wings: the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Doha, he said, was all about preparation for the Games: “I'm gonna treat it like a mid-season meet and just try to go and try to see what I can do in the three events. I just want to have fun and I just want to swim.”