Ahmed Hafnaoui, the reigning world champion and top seed in the men's 800 freestyle, has withdrawn from the event on the opening day of the U.S. Open in Greensboro. This means that the highly-anticipated head-to-head clash with Olympic gold medalist Bobby Finke, scheduled for Wednesday night, will not materialize.
While Hafnaoui's scratch doesn't necessarily imply his withdrawal from the entire meet, the likelihood has increased as he has opted out of one of his strongest events. Hafnaoui, who was in the midst of his freshman year at Indiana University and competed for the Hoosiers as recently as October 25, is no longer listed on the team roster.
Both Hafnaoui and Indiana University have chosen not to comment on his current status. Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Hafnaoui had left the Indiana University team and was now training with The Swim Team (TST) in Lake Forest, California, under the guidance of coaches Mark Schubert and Tim Teeter. Several of Hafnaoui's TST training mates, including Marwan el Kamash, have also withdrawn from Wednesday's session.
Hafnaoui secured the 2023 World Championship title in the 800 freestyle this past summer in Fukuoka, recording a time of 7:37.00, ranking him third all-time in the event. The Tunisian swimmer also clinched gold in the 1500 freestyle, narrowly defeating Finke by a mere five one-hundredths of a second in a thrilling contest. Additionally, Hafnaoui holds the title of reigning Olympic champion (and Worlds silver medalist) in the 400 freestyle.
We wish Ahmed Hafnaoui all the best in all his endeavours.
