Tunisian Distance Duo Ahmed Jaouadi and Ahmed Hafnaoui Have a Strong Start to SECs
The 2026 SEC Championships kicked off with a bang as the men's and women's mile events commenced. The Florida men received a significant boost from the Tunisian distance swimming duo, Ahmed Jaouadi and Ahmed Hafnaoui.
Men's 1650 Freestyle
The event saw a new personal best time for Jaouadi, who clocked an impressive 14:25.14, a 14-second improvement from his previous time. This performance also earned him the 13th spot in the history of the event, surpassing Rex Maurer's 2025 NCAA Championships record. The SEC and NCAA records remain untouched, held by Bobby Finke since 2020.
The top 8 results were:
1. Ahmed Jaouadi (FLOR) - 14:25.14
2. Levi Sandidge (UK) - 14:30.04
3. Ahmed Hafnaoui (FLOR) - 14:30.74
4. Carson Hick (UK) - 14:39.87
5. Giovanni Linscheer (FLOR) - 14:46.24
6. Sean Green (UGA) - 14:46.88
7. Dziugas Miskinis (UK) - 14:46.91
8. Nikola Simic (LSU) - 14:47.85
Jaouadi's performance was a remarkable achievement, breaking the pool record and securing an automatic NCAA bid. His Florida teammate, Hafnaoui, also made a strong showing, winning his heat and finishing 3rd overall in his first mile race.
Hafnaoui's time of 14:30.74 was just 0.14 seconds behind Levi Sandidge of Kentucky, who finished 2nd. This performance would have placed him 8th at last year's NCAAs, just ahead of Sandidge's 8th-place finish.
The SECs marked Hafnaoui's return to competition after a 21-month suspension for missing doping tests. He made his debut for the Florida Gators in late January, swimming the 500 freestyle in 4:23.90 against Florida State. His split time of 4:18.86 on the first 500 yards of his 1650 freestyle was impressive.
Both swimmers are entered in the 200 and 500 free events later in the week, promising further exciting performances from this talented Tunisian duo.
