Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia swims during the men's 1500m freestyle final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Mellouli won the gold medal in the event with 14 minutes 40.84 seconds.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- "It's the redemption I wanted, and I got it," said Oussama Mellouli from Tunisia on Sunday after winning the men's 1,500-meter freestyle.

    Mellouli kept himself in the fifth or sixth place out of eight finalists in the first 14 laps, then began to surpass the big fish ahead of him one by one in a modest way. The 24-year-old swimmer grabbed the leading position after the 1,050-meter mark and never conceded it until touching the wall first in 14 minutes and 40.84seconds.

    "It was all calculated. I showed down in the penultimate 100m to save energy and attack in the final 50m," said 24-year-old swimmer.

    Australian giant Grant Hacett and Canadian Ryan Cochrane took the silver and bronze respectively while Chinese pair ZhangLin and teenager Sun Yang ranked seventh and eighth.

    Hackett has remained a benchmark swimmer in the men's 1, 500-meter freestyle since 2001, when he clocked 14:34.56 in the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The mark remained intact over the past seven years.