Lawson Secures Silver at Youth Olympic Games

Day Two Wrap – 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Photo Credit: OIS/Joel Marklund

Alyssa Lawson (Hamilton Aquatics / St Andrew’s – coached by Ash Delaney) continued New Zealand’s medal-winning start in Dakar, claiming silver in the women’s 100m freestyle on the second day of competition.

It’s a career-first international medal for the 16-year-old, who matched her personal best time in the final.

Lawson put together a strong performance, turning first at the 50m mark in 26.98, before charging for home to finish in 56.13, just 0.24 seconds behind gold medallist Ana Bobanovic (Croatia), who won in 55.89. Dhinidhi Desinghu (India) took bronze.

The performance equals her lifetime best recorded earlier this year at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Vancouver.

Lawson becomes the fourth New Zealand swimmer to reach the podium at a Youth Olympic Games, following Ariel Muchirahondo’s gold medal on day one, and Gabrielle Fa’amausili and Bobbi Gichard’s bronze medals from 2014.

Day three of racing in Dakar will see Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua) back in the pool for the men's 100m backstroke, while Lawson will return on day four for the 50m freestyle.

Live coverage is available on olympics.com, with daily highlights on Sky Sport. See your TV guide for more information.

Livestream

Schedule & Results

Daily schedule

Entries and start times are subject to change.

*Progression to finals subject to qualification.

Day Three – Tuesday 3 November

• Heats from 10:00am local, 11:00pm NZDT

  • 11:51pm NZDT – Men's 100m backstroke heat – Ariel Muchirahondo

    
    

• Finals from 3:00pm local, 4:00am NZDT (4 November NZDT)

  • 4:03am NZDT – Men's 100m backstroke final – Ariel Muchirahondo*

Day Four – Wednesday 4 November

• Heats from 10:00am local, 11:00pm NZDT

  • 11:16pm NZDT – Women's 50m freestyle heat – Alyssa Lawson

  • 11:45pm NZDT – Men's 200m individual medley heat – Ariel Muchirahondo

    
    

• Finals from 3:00pm local, 4:00am NZDT (5 November NZDT)

  • 4:00am NZDT – Women's 50m freestyle final – Alyssa Lawson*

  • 4:29am NZDT – Men's 200m individual medley final – Ariel Muchirahondo*

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) – 1 x GOLD

• Men's 200m backstroke – gold medal (final: 1:59.15; heat: 2:02.06)

• Men's 100m backstroke

• Men's 200m individual medley

• Men's 200m freestyle

Alyssa Lawson (Hamilton Aquatics / St Andrew's) – 1 x SILVER

• Women's 100m freestyle – silver medal (final: 56.13 – PB; heat: 56.53)

• Women's 50m freestyle

• 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