At only 19, Ahmed Jaouadi continues to vibrate international basins. The young Tunisian swimming prodigy shone during the Barcelona stage of the prestigious Mare Nostrum Swim Tour in the Olympic Basin (50 m), by winning two medals on the bottom tests, thus confirming his return in force at the highest level.
After having signed a remarkable performance on Wednesday on the 800 m freestyle, where he won the silver medal with a time of 7: 46.37 – just a second from the Irishman Daniel Wiffen – Jaouadi outlined the competition Thursday on the 400m freestyle. He imposed himself in 3: 47.58, ahead of the Italian Marco de Tullio (3: 49.28) and his Irish rival Wiffen (3: 50.55), thus offering himself gold in a discipline where he had already proven himself in the past.
This Barcelona double marks a new stage in the meteoric ascent of the Tunisian swimmer, revealed in the world in December 2024 at the world championships in small pool in Budapest. That day, he had won gold on the 1500 m freestyle (14: 16.40), becoming the youngest Tunisian world champion, and bronze on 800 m by establishing a new African record (7: 31.93). Performance that had already made him one of the most promising names in worldwide swimming.
His participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also confirmed his potential: finalist on 1500 m (7th) and very close to the podium on 800 m (4th), Jaouadi had established himself as a serious pretender to the medals for the next international deadlines.
Since its thunderous beginnings at the 2021 Arab Championships in Abu Dabi, until its continental consecration at the 2022 African Championships in Tunis, Jaouadi has chained the podiums, with a regularity that forces respect. Crowned “African swimmer of the year 2024” by Swimming World Magazine, he became in a few seasons the face of Tunisian swimming and pride for a whole continent.
With his two medals in Barcelona, Jaouadi confirms that he approaches 2025 with ambition and maturity, ready to aim even higher. The pond nostrum is only a step in its quest: the Kazan world championships this summer will be the next big meeting of an athlete who continues to push the limits.
