NCAA Men’s Championships: Ahmed Hafnaoui Holds Off Loaded Field For 500 Free Upset Win; Jaouadi Achieves Florida 1-2
A matchup of titans unfolded in the men’s 500 freestyle. The top three seeds entering the final all had NCAA titles on their ledger while the fourth was an Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter free five years ago. That latter swimmer, Ahmed Hafnaoui, had been absent from major competition for the last two years because of an anti-doping whereabouts violation, but he has quickly rebounded to top form since arriving at the University of Florida.
And in this final, Hafnaoui jumped ahead of his star distance rivals, opening up a lead of more than a bodylength with 150 yards remaining as he dared the field to catch him. No one could, not even Florida teammate and Tunisian countryman Ahmed Jaouadi. Two days after Jaouadi exploded on the final two lengths of the 1650 free to produce a win and the fastest time in history, he again turned to a furious finishing kick but just missed coming over the top as Hafnaoui responded in the final strokes.
Hafnaoui finished in 4:06.56 to take the win, 0.34 ahead of Jaouadi.
“I didn’t expect to win that race. Honestly, I’m just so happy that I’m back. I’ve trained with this guy for a year and a half now,” Hafnaoui said, pointing to Jaouadi. “Just so good to be his partner,” Hafnaoui said, pointing to Jaouadi. “I talked with Coach Nesty before that 500, and he was like, ‘You always had that Tunisian jet. The last 50, you just move your legs, and you’re like a jet ski.’ So I kept that in mind. I just went moderate in the first half and just tried to build up the second half.”
Hafnaoui admitted that he harbored doubts whether he was capable of returning to top form after his long layoff, but his time training with the Florida distance group, including during his suspension, provided an influx of confidence.
“We have like the best distance group in the country right now with with Bobby (Finke), Katie (Ledecky), me Ahmed,” Hafnaoui said. “All the other guys are doing well, too so I feel like we’re gonna be the Mecca of distance swimming. I’m just really happy to be partnering with with these guys. It just makes me better. I’m so happy to be back.”
The time made Hafnaoui the seventh-fastest swimmer in history while Jaouadi now holds the No. 11 spot in the all-time rankings. Those two performances plus fifth-place points from fellow Gator Gio Linscheer gave the team 51 points, coming within 21.5 of first-place Texas in the team standings. The Gators actually pulled into the lead (which would be short-lived) one race later as Josh Liendo topped the 50 free, and Liendo revealed that the 1-2-5 finish got him fired up for his own individual performance.
“I kind of knew they had it,” Liendo said of watching Hafnaoui and Jaouadi race. “So I was like, alright, they they got it. And I was just looking at Gio doing his thing, swimming a good race. And I was more more hyped for him, moving up in the outside lane, doing his thing. And that was his last swim ever. I didn’t even know who won. I was like, ‘You guys can race.’ I’ll just watch Gio,’ and I got hyped up from that.”
The Longhorns had a standout in the heat, but Rex Maurer was unable to replicate his past form in the 500. After setting an American record in November 2024 and winning the national title last March, Maurer could not keep pace with the Tunisians in the final 100 yards, and he ended up third in 4:07.85. Indiana’s Zalan Sarkany, the 1650 free winner in 2024 and 2025 and runnerup to Jaouadi at this meet, closed well to nearly push Maurer out of the top three. He came up seven hundredths behind at 4:07.95.
Event 12 Men 500 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA: N 4:02.31 3/28/2024 Leon Marchand, ASU
Meet: M 4:02.31 3/28/2024 Leon Marchand, ASU
American: A 4:04.45 11/20/2024Rex Maurer, Texas
U. S. Open: O 4:02.31 3/28/2024 Leon Marchand, ASU
Pool: P 4:06.61 3/24/2022 Matthew Sates, Georgia
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Hafnaoui, Ahmed 5Y Florida 4:09.78 4:06.56P 20
r:+0.75 22.72 47.14 (24.42)
1:11.95 (24.81) 1:37.00 (25.05)
2:02.32 (25.32) 2:27.60 (25.28)
2:53.13 (25.53) 3:17.85 (24.72)
3:42.81 (24.96) 4:06.56 (23.75)
2 Jaouadi, Ahmed FR Florida 4:09.08 4:06.90 17
r:+0.74 22.48 47.34 (24.86)
1:12.69 (25.35) 1:38.50 (25.81)
2:03.83 (25.33) 2:29.21 (25.38)
2:54.41 (25.20) 3:18.99 (24.58)
3:43.41 (24.42) 4:06.90 (23.49)
3 Maurer, Rex JR Texas 4:08.78 4:07.88 16
r:+0.73 22.53 47.39 (24.86)
1:12.60 (25.21) 1:38.05 (25.45)
2:03.36 (25.31) 2:28.66 (25.30)
2:53.88 (25.22) 3:19.08 (25.20)
3:43.86 (24.78) 4:07.88 (24.02)
4 Sarkany, Zalan SR Indiana 4:09.57 4:07.95 15
r:+0.67 22.26 47.02 (24.76)
1:12.11 (25.09) 1:37.55 (25.44)
2:03.02 (25.47) 2:28.50 (25.48)
2:53.91 (25.41) 3:19.09 (25.18)
3:44.08 (24.99) 4:07.95 (23.87)
5 Linscheer, Gio SR Florida 4:11.28 4:09.13 14
r:+0.73 23.47 48.36 (24.89)
1:13.74 (25.38) 1:39.10 (25.36)
2:04.64 (25.54) 2:30.15 (25.51)
2:55.23 (25.08) 3:19.94 (24.71)
3:44.77 (24.83) 4:09.13 (24.36)
6 Alcantara, Leonardo JR Alabama 4:10.82 4:11.87 13
r:+0.69 23.52 48.67 (25.15)
1:14.16 (25.49) 1:40.00 (25.84)
2:06.02 (26.02) 2:31.48 (25.46)
2:56.74 (25.26) 3:22.05 (25.31)
3:47.23 (25.18) 4:11.87 (24.64)
7 Shackell, Aaron JR Indiana 4:11.01 4:12.23 12
r:+0.71 22.80 48.11 (25.31)
1:13.94 (25.83) 1:39.84 (25.90)
2:05.54 (25.70) 2:31.41 (25.87)
2:56.93 (25.52) 3:22.21 (25.28)
3:47.54 (25.33) 4:12.23 (24.69)
8 Green, Sean FR Georgia 4:11.34 4:13.29 11
r:+0.68 23.34 48.74 (25.40)
1:14.47 (25.73) 1:40.39 (25.92)
2:06.10 (25.71) 2:31.81 (25.71)
2:57.40 (25.59) 3:23.03 (25.63)
3:48.70 (25.67) 4:13.29 (24.59)
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