Four-time Olympian Ous Mellouli will be carrying the Tunisian flag at the Opening Ceremony of this year’s Olympic Games in Rio. This is not his first time time carrying his country’s flag; after his amazing performance at the 2012 London Olympics he was given the honor of leading his country and carrying the Tunisian flag at the Closing Ceremonies.
At the London 2012 Olympics Mellouli won gold in the 10k Open Water Marathon and bronze in the 1500 m freestyle, making him the first swimmer to medal in both open water and pool events in a single Olympics. He will be defending his gold medal in the 10k in addition to swimming the 1500 this summer. He says his goal is to medal in both events (source). This will be Mellouli’s fifth Olympics– he first qualified as a 16 year old in 2000 for the 1500 m freestyle, and has qualified for every Olympics since. He earned his first medal in the 2008 Bejing Olympics, achieving gold in the 1500.
Ous Mellouli (photo: Mike Lewis, Ola Vista Photography)
Mellouli will be facing tough competition in Rio. This past weekend at the U.S. swimming Olympic Trials Jordan Wilimovsky qualified for the 1500 in addition the 10k open water, making him the first American to compete in both open water and pool events at the Olympics. In contrast to the 2012 games, if both Mellouli and Wilimovsky final in the 1500 they will have a much shorter gap in between their pool and open water races. The finals for the 1500 will take place on the 13th, and the 10k will be just 3 days later on the 16th.