Leah Markgraaff opened Team SA’s medal account at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, swimming to silver in the women’s 400m freestyle at the Dakar Aquatic Centre in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday, 1 November 2026.
A day later Chanel Veldsman added bronze in the 200m breaststroke, giving South African women two medals in the pool on the first two days of swimming.
Markgraaff, 17, touched in 4:26.13 behind Ecuador’s Elvira Espinosa, who won the first gold of the Games in a personal best 4:22.87, the first Youth Olympic gold for an Ecuadorian woman. Belgium’s Célya Paques took bronze in 4:28.37. With the heat of the Senegalese capital prompting organisers to swim all 400m events as morning timed finals, the medals were decided in the fastest heat.
Markgraaff led for the first two laps before Bulgaria’s Simona Ivanova moved ahead on the third. The South African turned third at halfway, then came strongly through the back half, passed Ivanova and pulled clear in second with 100m to swim as local supporters drummed in the stands.
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Speaking in the mixed zone, Markgraaff said: “I do not think it has quite sunk in yet, but I think it is quite a good achievement and I am very happy about it. I really focused on getting out ahead early to get a good feel for the water. I enjoy getting out quickly to get ahead and settle into the race.”
The distance swimmer won gold in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle at the African Youth Games in Luanda, Angola in December 2025, and her Dakar swim was 6.54 seconds faster than the 4:32.67 that won her the 400m title there. Organisers announced on 30 October that the 800m freestyle had been removed from the Dakar programme because of the heat.
Being Team SA’s first medallist in Dakar carried special meaning.
“I was thinking about the possibility of this happening before the race, but now that it has actually happened is surreal. I am so proud to be representing my country and to bring home our first medal is incredibly special to me.”
2026 Youth Olympic Games 400m Freestyle Silver Medalist, Leah Markgraaff
Veldsman won Team SA’s second medal on Monday, 2 November. She touched in a personal best 2:30.87 behind Japan’s Mana Ishikawa, who won in 2:26.50, and China’s Mohan Chang, who was second in 2:27.21. Her time was 3.61 seconds faster than the 2:34.48 that won her the 200m breaststroke title in Luanda, where she collected four gold medals.
“I am so proud to have won this medal. It is an incredible achievement and to bring home bronze for my country means the world to me. I am not looking too far ahead and I will take everything one step at a time from here, but for now, I am going to savour this unforgettable moment.”
200m Breaststroke Bronze Medalist, Chanel Veldsman
The bronze caps a rapid rise for the 17-year-old. Veldsman’s first international competition was the 2025 World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, just over a year before she stood on the podium in Dakar.
Markgraaff returned to the pool on Monday in the 100m freestyle, finishing sixth in her heat in 1:00.87 and 27th overall, outside the final.
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The two medals add to the record of South African women in the Youth Olympic pool, following Dune Coetzee’s silver in the 200m butterfly at Buenos Aires 2018. The fourth Youth Olympic Games, and the first Olympic event staged on African soil, opened on Saturday, 31 October at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium and run to 13 November.
Two days into the swimming programme, two 17-year-old South African women have stood on the Youth Olympic podium in Dakar, and both arrived there from the African waters of Luanda.
Original Copy: Team SA, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Leah Markgraaff of Team SA won silver in the women’s 400m freestyle at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, touching in 4:26.13 behind Ecuador’s Elvira Espinosa to win South Africa’s first medal of the Games, the first Olympic event on African soil, at the Dakar Aquatic Centre in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday, 1 November 2026. Photo: OIS / IOC
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