By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
Olympic gold medalist Ahmed Hafnaoui has withdrawn from the upcoming Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy.
According to Jawhara FM, the decision came after a meeting between representatives of the Tunisian Swimming Federation, the Minisrty of Youth and Sports, and Hafnaoui’s personal representatives, where a doctor cited his “lack of mental and physical readiness to participate.”
The Mediterranean Games will be held from August 20 to September 3, and would have been Hafnaoui’s first major international long course meet since returning from a 21-month suspension for missing doping tests.
The reason for a formalized meeting with so many stakeholders is that he receives a significant annual salary from the government and the National Olympic Committee. According to Jawhara, he has already received his dues of approximately 570,000 dinars, plus a grant of 50,000 dinars from the National Olympic Committee.
620,000 Tunisian dinars is approximately $211,000 US dollars.
The president of the Tunisian Swimming Federation Hedia Mansour publicly criticized Hafnaoui’s team. She says that the federation has had no direct contact with Hafnaoui and that his mother required that any communication only go through his “team.”
She also says the Mediterranean Games were part of the stipulations of his performance agreement and accused Hafnaoui’s team of “negligence.”
Hafnaoui, 23, was a surprise Olympic champion at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo in the 2021. He qualified into the final in 8th before winning in 3:43.36.
He was the country’s only Olympic gold medalist at the Tokyo Games in any sport.
He returned to international competition in January 2026 after the 21-month suspension. After the suspension expired, he also began competing in the United States at the University of Florida, where he won the NCAA title in the 500 yard free in March.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ahmed Hafnaoui Withdraws from Mediterranean Games, Increasing Rift with Tunisian Federation
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