Lawson and Muchirahondo Each Add Silver on Day Four in Dakar
Day Four Wrap – 2026 Youth Olympic Games
Alyssa Lawson (Hamilton Aquatics / St Andrew’s – coached by Ash Delaney) and Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua – coached by Aidan Withington) each added silver to New Zealand’s medal tally in the pool on the fourth day of racing at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
Lawson claimed silver in the women’s 50m freestyle, clocking 25.74 to record the second fastest time of her career in the event, behind only her personal best from the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships earlier this year.
It was a race between Lawson and 100m freestyle champion Ana Bobanović (Croatia) from start to finish, with the Croatian swimmer getting off to a better start while Lawson clawed back ground throughout the race. Bobanović took gold in 25.45, with Lawson taking silver and bronze going to Palina Bialiauskaya (Belarus).
That marks two silver medals for Lawson in Dakar, with the 16-year-old joining Muchirahondo as New Zealand’s only multi-medallists in the pool at a Youth Olympic Games.
Later in the session, Muchirahondo also claimed silver, his third medal of these Games.
This time the medal came in the 200m individual medley. Muchirahondo got off to a fast start, leading through the front half of the race with his butterfly and backstroke legs. The breaststroke leg saw the field close up, before a blistering finish from Japan’s Iori Miyazaki saw Muchirahondo touch second to the wall.
Miyazaki finished in 2:00.71, with Muchirahondo less than a second behind in 2:01.66 for silver, while Kirhan Yilmaz (Turkey) claimed bronze.
The New Zealand duo end day four of racing with five medals between them: two gold and three silver.
Day five of racing in Dakar will see Lawson take on the women's 50m backstroke. line up in the women's 50m freestyle, while Muchirahondo will be back in action on day six in the men's 200m freestyle.
Live coverage is available on olympics.com, with daily highlights on Sky Sport. See your TV guide for more information.
Daily schedule
Entries and start times are subject to change.
*Progression to finals subject to qualification.
Day Five – Thursday 5 November
Heats from 10:00am local, 11:00pm NZDT
11:06pm NZDT – Women's 50m backstroke heat – Alyssa Lawson
Finals from 3:00pm local, 4:00am NZDT (6 November NZDT)
4:00am NZDT – Women's 50m backstroke final – Alyssa Lawson*
Day Six – Friday 6 November
Heats from 10:00am local, 11:00pm NZDT (6 November NZDT)
11:36pm NZDT – Men's 200m freestyle heat – Ariel Muchirahondo
Finals from 3:30pm local, 4:30am NZDT (7 November NZDT)
4:34am NZDT – Men's 200m freestyle final – Ariel Muchirahondo*
Results by Swimmer
Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua) – 2 x GOLD, 1 x SILVER
Men's 200m backstroke – gold medal (final: 1:59.15; heat: 2:02.06)
Men's 100m backstroke – gold medal (final: 55.69; heat: 55.36)
Men's 200m individual medley – silver medal (final: 2:01.66; heat: 2:03.99)
Men's 200m freestyle
Alyssa Lawson (Hamilton Aquatics / St Andrew's) – 2 x SILVER
Women's 100m freestyle – silver medal (final: 56.13 – PB; heat: 56.53)
Women's 50m freestyle – silver medal (final: 25.74; heat: 25.92)
Women's 50m backstroke
New Zealand team
Name | Club | Role |
Aidan Withington | Swim Rotorua | Head Coach |
Name | Club | Coach |
Alyssa Lawson | Hamilton Aquatics & St Andrew's | Ash Delaney (AUS) |
Ariel Muchirahondo | Swim Rotorua | Aidan Withington |
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