THIS SEASON: Ous Mellouli, a 2004 Olympic finalist and 2005 and 2003 World Championships medallist from Tunisia, is one of the world's top medley swimmers and distance freestylers and again will be among the title contenders in all distance events at the NCAA Championships as a 2006 senior. The defending NCAA title winner in the 400y IM, he's almost as dangerous over 200 yards as he is over 1650 ... He holds four USC records (including in the 400y and 400scm IM) and is also among the top 10 fastest Trojans ever in the 500y and 1650y free and the 200y IM. He's an 11-time All-American and a five-time Pac-10 champion. 2005: No slouch as a freshman and sophomore, Mellouli took his Trojan career a step further as a 2005 junior, winning his first career NCAA title before winning two more bronzes (among three final heats) at the 2005 World Championships ... At the 2005 NCAA Championships, Mellouli won the 400y IM in a school record 3:39.19, going under two-time Olympic silver medallist and former teammate Erik Vendt's 3:39.95. He was also sixth in the 500y free (4:16.86), seventh in the 1650y free (14:56.49) and helped USC to eighth in the 400y medley relay ... At the 2005 Pac-10 Championships, Mellouli won the 400y IM (3:42.01) and 500y free (4:14.66), defending his 2004 titles in both races. He was also third in the 1650y free (15:07.83) ... At the 2005 FINA World Championships, Mellouli won bronzes in the 400m free (3:46.08) and 400m IM (4:13.47) and took fifth in the 800m free (7:51.03). His swim in the 800m free made him the 10th fastest man ever in the race ... Prior to the World Championships, Mellouli won three golds at the 2005 Mediterranean Games (400m and 800m free and 400m IM). 2004: Mellouli posted a pair of second-place finishes as a sophomore at the 2004 NCAA Championships, coming within less than a second of winning each race. He took second in both the 400m IM (4:04.90) and the 1500m free (14:45.49) and was also ninth in the 400m free (3:43.33), posting a time in consolation finals that would have placed second in finals. At the 2004 Pac-10 Championships, Mellouli won there conference titles, taking first in the 400y IM, 500y free and 1650y free (the same three wins that former teammate Erik Vendt had in 2003) ... At the 2004 Olympics, Mellouli was fifth in the 400m IM (4:14.49) and 14th in the 1500m free (15:18.98) ... At the 2004 Short Course World Championships, Mellouli won gold in the 400m IM (4:07.02) and bronze in the 200m IM (1:56.23). The gold is the first swimming world championship for Tunisia and the second in any sport. 2003: Mellouli proved to be a force for the Trojans as a freshman in 2003, establishing himself as one of the top swimmers in the country. He earned a team-high five All-American honors, three individually and two on relays ... He posted three top five finishes individually, taking third in the 500y free (4:15.50), fourth in the 400y IM (3:43.10) and fifth in the 1650y free (14:47.69), good for 45 points, the fourth highest total in the meet ... He also swam second on USC's fifth-place 800y free relay, anchored the sixth-place 400y medley relay and swam the second leg of the 400y free relay that finished 15th ... At the 2003 Pac-10 Championships, Mellouli, the Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year, was second to teammate Erik Vendt in both the 400y IM (3:46.29) and the 1650y free (14:58.53) and was also sixth in the 200y IM (1:47.74) ... He was only the seventh Trojan ever to go under 15 minutes in the 1650y free ... At the 2003 World Championships, Mellouli won a bronze medal in the 400m IM (4:15.36). He also was ninth in the 400m free (3:52.04) and 10th in the 200m IM (2:01.64). HIGH SCHOOL: Mellouli attended Lycee du Rampart in Marseille, France, last year ... At the 2002 Short Course World Championships, he was 15th in the 400m IM (4:14.83), 17th in the 400m free (3:49.37) and 19th in the 1500m free (15:19.81) ... He competed for Tunisia at the 2000 Olympics in the 400m IM, taking 43rd. PERSONAL: Mellouli was born on Feb. 16, 1984. MELLOULI'S PERSONAL RECORDS:
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