Muchirahondo Strikes Gold Again in Dakar

Day Three Wrap – 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Photo Credit: OIS/Jon Buckle

Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua – coached by Aidan Withington) claimed the men’s 100m backstroke title on day three of the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, adding to his 200m backstroke gold from the opening day of competition.

This time, the race went down to the wire. Muchirahondo had work to do, with Greece’s Nikolaos Papatheodorou leading over the first 75m.

Muchirahondo held his composure, staying within range of the leader before finding a final surge and lunging for the wall to touch in 55.69, just one tenth of a second ahead of Papatheodorou. Miguel Reis Oliveira (Portugal) took bronze.

The 17-year-old makes more history, becoming the first New Zealand swimmer to win multiple medals at a Youth Olympic Games.

Day four of racing in Dakar will see Alyssa Lawson (Hamilton Aquatics / St Andrew's) line up in the women's 50m freestyle, while Muchirahondo will be in action in the men's 200m individual medley.

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 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) – 2 x GOLD

• 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

• 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