SwimSwam Tokyo Olympic Champion Ahmed Hafnaoui Suspended For Missed Doping Tests

Hafnaoui Suspended For 21 Months: Olympic and world champion Ahmed Hafnaoui has been suspended for 21 months for whereabouts failures, having missed three anti-doping tests within a 12-month period.

Also: Kaylee McKeown and Thomas Ceccon shine at the Australian Open, all of the highlights from the Aquatics GB Championships, and Italian star Sara Curtis commits to Virginia.

Ahmed Hafnaoui Suspended For Whereabouts Failures

Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and 2023 world champion Ahmed Hafnaoui has received a 21-month suspension for whereabouts failures, the World Aquatics Integrity Unit announced last week.

The suspension is retroactive to April 11, 2024, and will run until January 10, 2026.

Hafnoaui, 22, admitted to the violation. Late last year, he was provisionally suspended for the same violation.

According to sources, Hafnaoui missed two anti-doping tests while training in the United States and then a third after returning home to Tunisia amid visa issues in the U.S. More recently, he has been at a training camp in France with countrymen Ahmed Jaouadi and Rami Rahmouni, working with French coach Philippe Lucas.

The surprise Olympic champion in the men's 400 freestyle at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Hafnaoui won gold medals in the men's 800 and 1500 free at the 2023 World Championships, establishing himself as arguably the best distance swimmer in the world for a brief period.

However, he has not been a factor on the global stage since his last competition, which came at the 2024 World Championships last February, where he wasn't a finalist in any of his events. He spent a brief period of time competing for Indiana University early in the 2023-24 NCAA season before moving to train in California with The Swim Team (TST). It was while he was training at TST that the visa issues arose and resulted in him returning to Tunisia.

Read more here.

McKeown, Ceccon Shine Early At Australian Open Championships

A pair of blistering backstroke swims have stolen the headlines through the first two nights of the Australian Open Championships in Brisbane.

On the opening day, Italian star Thomas Ceccon set a new National Record in the men's 200 backstroke, clocking 1:55.71 to break Matteo Restivo's previous mark of 1:56.29 set in 2018 and move into #3 in the 2024-25 world rankings.

Ceccon, whose previous best time stood at 1:56.49 from 2023, officially qualified for the Italian World Championship team with this swim after he was granted the ability to qualify for the team at this meet while he trains in Australia.

For Australian swimmers, this is not a World Championship qualifier, but simply a tune-up for the upcoming World Trials in June.

Kaylee McKeown started her competition by producing a time of 2:08.58 in the prelims of the women's 200 IM, moving her into #2 in the world this season, but she opted to scratch the final, opening the door for Ella Ramsay to claim the victory in 2:10.15.

On Day 2, McKeown put up a standout performance in the women's 100 back, touching in 57.65 to surpass her own world-leading time of 57.73 from the New South Wales State Open Championships in late March.

The swim moves into a tie for the 18th-fastest performance ever and is the 11th-quickest of McKeown's career.

Other highlights on Day 2 included Meg Harris winning the women's 50 free in 24.57, ranking her 7th in the world this season, and in the women's 200 fly, Brittany Castelluzzo clocked 2:06.86 to rank #3 in the world.

• Full Day 1 Finals Recap
• Full Day 2 Finals Recap

Morgan, Evans Set New British Records At Aquatics GB Championships

Oliver Morgan and Angharad Evans set new British Records to highlight last week's Aquatics GB Championships, which was used as the primary selection meet for Great Britain's team at the 2025 World Championships.

Morgan, 21, put up a time of 52.12 in the men's 100 back to obliterate the former National Record of 52.70 that he set at the 2024 British Championships. The swim ranks him #2 in the world this season behind Russia's Kliment Kolesnikov (52.04), and it also moves him into a tie for 13th all-time.

Evans, also 21, clocked 1:05.37 in the women's 100 breast to chip 17 one-hundredths off her British Record of 1:05.54, set last May, and move her into the top spot in the 2024-25 world rankings.

Another highlight from the competition was the final race of the meet, the men's 200 free, where there was only one individual World Championship slot up for grabs after Matt Richards was pre-selected to the team after winning silver at the Olympics last summer.

In the final, Duncan Scott and James Guy finished deadlocked in 1:45.08, sharing the victory and leading to more questions as to who will swim the event alongside Richards in Singapore. Both swimmers will head to Worlds regardless, with the men's 4x200 free relay qualified. Richards was right in the thick of the race, touching 3rd in 1:45.35.

• All Finals Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

Another standout at the meet was 18-year-old Eva Okaro, who won the women's 50 free (24.48) and 50 fly (26.19) and was the runner-up to Freya Anderson (54.09) in the 100 free in 54.10, all new personal best times.

During the competition, Okaro announced her commitment to the University of Texas for the fall of 2025, bolstering the Longhorn women's team that's coming off a 3rd-place finish at the Women's NCAA Championships.

Sara Curtis Breaks Multiple Italian Records, Commits To Virginia

Italian teenager Sara Curtis had a whirlwind couple of days last week, following up an impressive performance at the National Championships by announcing her college commitment for next season in the NCAA.

Curtis, 18, set new Italian Records in the women's 50 free (24.43) and 100 free (53.01) at the Italian Championships in Riccione, qualifying her for the 2025 World Championships in Singapore.

In the 50 free, Curtis broke the record twice, first clocking 24.52 in the prelims before getting down to 24.43 in the final, having entered the meet as the National Record holder with her time of 24.56 from 2024.

In the 100 free, Curtis produced a time of 53.01 to take down Federica Pellegrini's nine-year-old National Record of 53.18, set in 2016. Curtis lowered her best time in the 100 free three times over the course of the meet, having come in with a PB of 54.22 and then recording a time of 53.72 on a relay lead-off before going 53.57 in the prelims and then ultimately breaking the record in the final.

She also won the 50 back at the meet in a new best time (27.90), and now ranks #1 in the world in the 100 free, #2 in the 50 free and #14 in the 50 back.

Two days after wrapping her meet with the 50 free record, Curtis announced her commitment to the University of Virginia, where she'll head this coming fall.

She wrote:

“I’m so happy to announce my verbal commitment to continue my swimming and academic journey at the University of Virginia!⚔️I’d love to thank my family, friends and coaches for supporting me in this decision. I’m incredibly greatful for this amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to start this adventure in August! Go Hoos!🧡”

Curtis gives the five-time defending champion Cavaliers another standout sprinter to add to their star-studded team, and she'll serve as a key component for them moving forward as UVA enters a new era following the graduation of Alex and Gretchen Walsh.

Read more here.

QUICK HITS

• The University of Florida has moved on from assistant coach Kristen Murslack, who worked primarily with the Gator women's team.
• Andrew Taylor, the 2024 SEC champion in the 1650 free, has entered the transfer portal, coming off his sophomore year at Florida.
• Another Florida Gator, Adam Chaney, has announced he's transferring to Arizona State to use his fifth year of eligibility after he didn't compete in the 2024-25 campaign.
• U.S. Olympic medalist Jay Litherland is moving to Japan to pursue a career in music, though he hasn't shut the door on continuing his swimming career.
• Union Commonwealth University in Barbourville, Kentucky, an NAIA school, has cut its men’s and women’s swimming program.
• Georgia Tech has announced that it will host a knockout-style dual meet tournament early next season. The eight-team showdown is scheduled for October 17-18.
• Following his world record swim last week in the 400 free, Lukas Märtens closed out the Swim Open Stockholm meet with a new German Record in the 800 free, clocking 7:39.10 to rank #9 all-time.
• At the Irish Championships, Daniel Wiffen closed the meet with a 14:42.71 swim in the 1500 free, ranking him #2 in the world this season behind Germany's Florian Wellbrock (14:38.27).
• Estonian teenager Eneli Jefimova reset a pair of her National Records in the women's breaststroke events over a two-day meet in Helsinki on Sunday and Monday, clocking 29.83 in the 50 breast to rank #1 in the world and 1:05.86 in the 100 breast to rank 3rd.
• The University of South Dakota has unveiled its new $32 million natatorium after nearly six years of construction.

Olympic Champion Ahmed Hafnaoui Given 21-Month Suspension for Missing Doping Tests

Kaylee McKeown Throws Down 57.65 100 Back To Lower Her Own World-Leading Time

Angharad Evans Sets 100 Breast British Record With 1:05.37, Takes Over World Lead

Italian Record Holder Sara Curtis Commits To Virginia Beginning Fall 2025

University of Florida Moving On From Assistant Coach Kristen Murslack

NCAA Relay Record Holder Adam Chaney Transferring To Arizona State To Use COVID-19 Fifth Year