"VAN" (Sports Desk - 02.11.2026) :: Ecuador’s Elvira Espinosa won the first gold medal of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, taking the women’s 400m Freestyle in 4:22.87 on the opening day of swimming at the Dakar Aquatics Centre.
Argentina’s Cecilia Dieleke, New Zealand’s Ariel Muchirahondo, Russia’s Serafima Fokina and Egypt’s Zain Ali also took titles day one.
Women’s 400m Freestyle: Espinosa takes the first gold
Espinosa triumphed in the Women’s 400m Freestyle timed final, with South Africa’s Leah Markgraaff taking silver in 4:26.13 and Belgium’s Célya Paques bronze in 4:28.37.
Espinosa said she told herself in the call room to stay calm.
“I was so nervous, I was so quiet in the call room. I just told myself, in Spanish, like, ‘Elvira, you can do this, just keep calm, you can do this’,” she said.
She knew the win was close in the closing stages.
“When I finished the 300m, I think. In the last 100m, I was thinking, ‘OK, Elvira you haven’t finished yet’.”
She couldn’t read the scoreboard from the pool, so she looked to her coach. “When I saw my coach jumping, I knew the answer.”
Women’s 200m Backstroke: Dieleke impresses to take gold
Dieleke claimed a dominant 200m Backstroke victory in 2:10.05, overcoming Greece’s Eirini Zervou who took silver in 2:15.52 and Israel’s Ofir Simcha who placed third in 2:17.44.
Dieleke said the time was “one of my best” and that she raced without worrying about the pressure of being a favourite.
“I tried to enjoy the race. It’s the biggest competition I’ve ever done,” she said.
The national anthem was an emotional moment for Dieleke.
“It wasn’t just my dream, but also, I believe, the dream of my family and my coach,” she added.
Men’s 200m Backstroke: Muchirahondo leads from the front
New Zealand’s Muchirahondo triumphed in the 200m Backstroke in 1:59.15. Iran’s Parsa Shahshahani claimed silver in 2:02.74. and Greece’s Nikolaos Papatheodorou took bronze in 2:03.23.
Muchirahondo said that leading from the front was the plan.
“That’s always the plan. Something's kind of changing now, where it's just, whoever can go up the fastest and hold on is the winner. And I think that's what I'm practising to do. I'm glad I was able to get it done,” he said.
“After that first 50 metres, I could feel myself gaining ground on the other competitors.
“The race hurt, but it was worth it. “
Muchirahondo also named France’s four-time Olympic gold medallist Leon Marchand as an inspiration, particularly for his underwater work.
Of his win, Muchirahondo said: “I just feel on top of the world.”
Women’s 100m Butterfly: Fokina wins a tight finish
Fokina led at the turn and won in 59.81, the only swimmer to break the minute.
Romania’s Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu took silver in 1:00.31, just ahead of Brazil’s Ana Julia Aguiar Amaral (1:00.49).
Silisteanu said the medal came as a surprise, as the 100m Butterfly is not her main event.
“I was shocked (laughs). It was great to see my coach so happy and I feel I did my country proud,” she said.
“This is not my event (my distance), so I didn’t expect to win a medal. It’s a surprise I got the silver today.
“This medal is very important to me, as it’s such a big event and the pressure was high.”
Men’s 100m Butterfly: Ali dominates
Ali led all the way, turning in 24.18 and finishing in 52.16, which was 1.87 clear of Serbia’s Aleksej Kalanj (54.03). Slovakia’s Matiáš Krištof took bronze in 54.71.
Ali said the race was a hard one and paid tribute to those who backed him.
“It was a pretty hard race. I worked so hard to get into that position, and I’m just so grateful and blessed for what I’ve just done,” he said.
He said the journey to the top of the podium had been long and demanding.
“Four years ago, I wasn’t even close to being here. I was far behind. I just worked hard and believed in myself. That’s the key,” he added.
“From start to finish, it was (a) tough (road). It wasn’t easy. I worked hard every single day, waking up at 4am.”
Ali said he had not been prepared for the emotion of the moment.
“It was unbelievable. I wasn’t prepared for such a moment. I was just happy. I forgot everything that had happened before that moment.”
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