Swimming Team Selected for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Team Announcement for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua) and Alyssa Lawson (Hamilton Aquatics) have been named to represent the New Zealand Team at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, with a further two swimmers selected as non-travelling reserves.

The Games are set to be held in Dakar, Senegal, from 31 October through to 13 November, with the swimming kicking off the Games schedule from 1 – 6 November.

Read NZOC Announcement

The athletes were selected following outstanding performances throughout the qualification period, including at the New Zealand Swimming Championships in Auckland last month. Muchirahondo delivered a standout campaign, setting New Zealand 17 years age group records in both the 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke. A month prior, at the 2026 Australian Age Group Swimming Championships, he set three New Zealand age group records.

Both Muchirahondo and Lawson represented New Zealand at the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships. Lawson was the youngest member of the team, earning her first junior national team selection at just 15 years old.

Muchirahondo has been selected for Dakar 2026 in the men's 200m backstroke, and Lawson has been selected in the women's 100m freestyle. Both athletes have requested additional entries to further events.

Selected as non-travelling reserves are Te Paki (Northwave) and Madeleine Wilson (SwimZone). Te Paki has been named a reserve following an impressive performance at the 2026 New Zealand Age Group Swimming Championships, where he broke Muchirahondo's 15 years New Zealand age group record in the 200m backstroke.

Wilson has been selected as a reserve after also producing strong performances in Hawke's Bay and throughout the qualification period.

New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) CEO, Nicki Nicol, congratulated the athletes on their appointment.

“This is a special moment for each of these athletes and their families. To be selected for the New Zealand Team is a significant achievement and something they’ve all worked hard for.”

Team Selected

Asterisks (*) denote those named as non-travelling reserves.

Name	Club	Coach
Alyssa Lawson	Hamilton Aquatics	Ash Delaney (St Andrew's)
Ariel Muchirahondo	Swim Rotorua	Aidan Withington
TeRauroha Paki *	Northwave	Monica Cooper
Madeleine Wilson *	SwimZone Racing	Frank Tourelle