Swimming: Olympic champion Ahmed Hafnaoui takes three titles in Grenoble, including the 1,500m in 15'03"12

Tunisian swimmer Ahmed Ayoub Hafnaoui, the Olympic 400m freestyle champion in Tokyo, won three titles at the Open des Alpes, held from October 9 to 11, 2026, in Grenoble, France, in a 25-meter pool. He triumphed in the 400m in 3'43"09, the 800m in 7'48"69, and the 1,500m in 15'03"12, according to Webdo and L'Économiste Maghrébin.

In the 1,500m, raced on Sunday, October 11, the gap said it all: a lead of about twenty seconds over the competition. Frenchman Malone Brunner took second place in 15'22"80, ahead of Romain Raguenaud, who finished third in 15'27", Webdo reports.

The return of a champion who disappeared from the pools

These times primarily mark a comeback. The Tunisian daily La Presse mentions a "break" that occurred on the eve of the Mediterranean Games, without detailing the conflict, and notes that neither the Tunisian Swimming Federation nor the Ministry of Sports has commented. The newspaper admits it does not know if the swimmer has left his American university program for a French center or club: "we do not know what is going on with this champion," it writes.

His track record, however, is established. Crowned at 18 in the 400m at the Tokyo Games, Hafnaoui added two world titles in the 800m and 1,500m at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2023, L'Économiste Maghrébin recalls. His personal best in a long-course pool in the 1,500m remains 14'31"54, according to La Presse: the room for improvement is therefore significant.

Beijing in his sights, with a caveat

The Short Course World Championships will be held in Beijing from December 1 to 6, 2026. La Presse believes the results from Grenoble qualify Hafnaoui and his compatriot Mohamed Yassine Ben Abbes for the event. L'Économiste Maghrébin adds a caveat: the 800m time only meets the B standard, without automatic qualification. Caution is therefore advised until the official selections are made.

Ben Abbes left Grenoble with gold in the 200m freestyle in 1'48"80, a personal best, ahead of French swimmers Clément Romeo (1'49"22) and Evan Galle-Michon (1'49"54), as well as a silver medal in the 800m and a bronze in the 400m.

Africa is not just a continent of long-distance runners: Tunisia, with Oussama Mellouli in the past and Hafnaoui today, has built a school of distance swimming. It remains to be seen whether the Olympic champion will regain his previous level in a long-course pool.