2011 has been a successful year for Tunisian athletes, whose phenomenal performances have stood out among their international counterparts.

Tunisian World and Olympic  swimming champion, Oussama Mellouli, was chosen on December 22nd as Sportsman of the Doha Pan Arab Games. He won 14 gold medals at the 12th quadrennial Pan Arab Games competition in Doha Qatar, which began December 6th and will end today.

Mellouli participated in all 14 swimming events, (13 of which he won) while being disqualified from the 100m breaststroke for exceeding 15 meters underwater at the start of the race (a punishable foul according to international regulations). Thanks to Mellouli’s achievement, Tunisia became the leader on the medals’ table for the swimming events of the Doha Pan Arab Games - beating Egypt with 17 gold medals.

Tunisian soccer also received recognition through Oussama Darragi, who was honored as the Best Local Soccer Player by the Confederation of African Football (or CAF). Winners of the CAF Awards were revealed yesterday at a gala held at the banquet room of the Stadium House in Ghana. Darragi’s team, Espérance Sportive Tunisienne (or EST), was also chosen as the Best African Team of 2011.

Additionally, the Tunisian basketball team, Etoile Sportive du Sahel (ESS), won the 26th African Cup title. The Tunisian victory (82 to 60) dethroned the previous champions, the Angolan Primero d’Agosto, in Salé Morocco on December 21st.