Oussama Mellouli at Rio2016: Tunisia’s golden swimmer to fight again for the gold

Defending the Olympic Champion title is the clear objective of Tunisian Oussama Mellouli at Rio 2016.

The African athletes are not famous for their achievements in the aquatic sports. Yet, Oussama Mellouli is one special exception. The 32 years old Tunisian swimmer won the gold in 1500m in Beijing in 2008 and the 10 km marathon event in London 2012. At the London Olympics he became famous for one more peculiarity. By winning a bronze in the 1500m freestyle category he became the first person to win medals in open water swimming and pools at the same Olympic Games.

At the Rio Olympics Mellouli will attend his fifth Olympic Games. But these ones, as he claims are special, since he is the flag bearer of his country athletes. Again he will compete in his two favorite disciplines: 1500 m and the 10 km marathon, giving priority, as online sportsbooks in France report, on the later.

Oussama Mellouli in Rio 2016: his chances

After the disappointing performance on the World Championship in Kazan everyone is expecting that he demonstrates his world class here in Rio. The African hero took the qualification visa for the Olympic marathon earlier this year at the marathon race in Portugal, and stated that he is preparing especially for the race at Copacabana.

Internet betting sites in Australia, such as Sportsbet are rating the Tunisian star on the top five places for winning the Olympic Gold with betting odds 10.00. The favorite for the race is Jordan Wilimovsky from USA with 4,50 odds, followed by Lijun Zu from China with 5.00 and Simone Ruffini from Italy with 6.50.