Muchirahondo Brings Historic Youth Olympic Campaign to a Close

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Day Six Wrap – 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua – coached by Aidan Withington) wrapped up his Youth Olympic Games campaign with a fourth place finish in the men's 200m freestyle on the final day of racing in Dakar, after winning two gold medals and a silver earlier in the week.

The swim capped a busy week of racing for the Rotorua teen, who touched in 1:50.98 in a closely contested race.

Muchirahondo made a fast start, turning in 53.66 to be second at the 100m mark, before the field closed up over the third 50m and a sprint to the finish saw him touch fourth, just over a second outside the podium. His time was just 0.14 seconds outside his own New Zealand 17-year-old age group record, set earlier this year.

It was the final swim of a week that delivered two gold medals and a silver across six days of racing. Muchirahondo became the first New Zealand swimmer to win Youth Olympic Games gold in the 200m backstroke, then did it again in the 100m backstroke.

He did it with plenty of backing around him in Senegal, with great support from the wider New Zealand team and the public in Dakar. While the 17-year-old grew up in Rotorua, his family roots are in Zimbabwe, which made the first Olympic event held on African soil especially significant.

Speaking to Olympics.com earlier in the week after his second gold, Muchirahondo said it was "great to do it on home soil", and that being able to see more people like him and make them proud brought him lots of pride.

Together with Alyssa Lawson’s two silver medals, the New Zealand duo finished with five medals in the pool in Dakar, two gold and three silver, the nation’s largest medal haul in the pool at a Youth Olympic Games. As a result, New Zealand finishes fifth on the swimming medal table.

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