TUNISIAN swimmer Oussama Mellouli achieved the first gold medal for the Arabs at the Beijing Games when he won the 1,500m men's freestyle race. The Tunisian was able to end Australian Grant Hackett's bid for a record third consecutive Olympic title in the 1,500m freestyle, which fell apart as Mellouli proved faster on Sunday at the National Aquatics Centre. Mellouli's timing for the gold medal of 14:40.84 was an African record. Hackett tried hard to close the gap in the last 100m with a last 50m split of 27.9, but it was not enough and he had to settle for the silver medal in 14:41.53. Hackett's recent form suggested he could have been able to respond to the challenge from Mellouli but he was unable to outperform Tunisian when it was needed. Canadian RyanCochrane qualified second-fastest for the final in an Americas record 14:40.84 and was with the leaders throughout the race, finishing with the bronze medal in 14:42.69. Yuriy Prilukov of Russia, who qualified third for the final in a European record 14:41.13, finished fourth. The 24-year-old Tunisian swimmer took part in three races. He was fifth at the 400m freestyle race but failed to qualify past the heats at the 200m freestyle race.
