- The 18-year-old raced a sizzling final 50m to touch in 3:43.36 and overhaul Australian Jack McLoughlin (3:43.52) and US swimmer Kieran Smith (3:43.94), who took bronze.
AFP |
UPDATED ON JUL 25, 2021 08:41 AM IST
Tunisian teenager Ahmed Hafnaoui stunned the field to win the men’s 400 metre freestyle gold in the Olympic pool on Sunday.
The 18-year-old raced a sizzling final 50m to touch in 3:43.36 and overhaul Australian Jack McLoughlin (3:43.52) and US swimmer Kieran Smith (3:43.94), who took bronze.
It was a major breakthrough for the young gun, who has little pedigree on the world stage.
“I just can’t believe that, it’s amazing. I felt better in the water this morning than yesterday and that’s it. I’m the Olympic champion now,” he said.
“I just put my head in the water and that’s it. I just can’t believe it. It’s a dream come true.”
Elijah Winnington, who shocked Mack Horton at the Australian trials to deny his countryman the chance of defending his Olympic title, led through 100m.
But McLoughlin hauled him in by the 200m mark and looked destined for gold until Hafnaoui’s burst of electric speed as he zeroed in on the finish line.
Close
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
