Team SA have a golden (and silver) day in Dakar

Team South Africa added two more medals to their haul at the 2026 Youth Olympics, with the first gold medal coming courtesy of rower Callum Dreyer and a silver medal thanks to Chanel Veldsman. The swimmer became Team SA’s first multi-medallist at the Games. The medal tally for Team South Africa sits at five, comprising one gold, three silver and one bronze heading into Wednesday.

Dreyer turned an event that was completely unknown to him, to Youth Olympic gold as he won three races, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final, in quick succession in rowing’s coastal beach sprints solo competition. One gets the impression that this is just the start of something special for him on the international stage.

Dreyer cruised to the first gold medal for Team South Africa after defeating Spaniard Diego Molina Martinez in the final, with a time of 2:15.65. His opponent had long thrown in the towel and trudged over the finishing line 28sec behind Dreyer. To put Dreyer’s dominance into perspective, the next quickest time for the event was 2:23.57 (Hungary’s bronze medal winner Adam Moor), which was nearly eight seconds slower than the South African teenager.

After his gold medal winning race, Dreyer stood on the sun-beaten sand of Saly Beach to bask in the moment. “I am so proud to win this medal for South Africa and for Africa as a whole. This was my first time competing in rowing coastal beach sprints and I became more confident with every race. This is an honour. Thank you to my coaches and the support of the Team South Africa family.”

The 16-year-old’s closest race was the quarter-final against the Czech rower, Ondrej Zizka, which he won by 0.14 seconds with a time of 2:24.52.

“The start of that race went completely wrong. When I got into the boat to take off, my oar got stuck in the sand and I lost quite a bit of ground. Fortunately, I was able to come back strong in the second 250m of the race and my sprint to the line was quick.”

After that close head-to-head, Dreyer looked unbeatable. Although he got off to slower starts against the Hungarian and the Spaniard, the second 250m of rowing was dominant for the young gold medallist. Throughout the tournament, he was the fastest in the sprint and boasted the quickest time throughout the elimination rounds, which came in the final with his time of 2:15.65.

“At first coming here was just about doing my best and making the most of the experience but this victory has ignited a flame within me to push myself as far as I can and I am really excited to see what the future holds for me. This has been an unforgettable experience.”

The young rower at Hilton College, the son of seven-time Dusi Canoe marathon champion Martin, began his journey 15 months ago and was delighted to gain the experience of the Youth Olympics. After a week in the water, Dreyer has emerged as one of the sport’s brightest talents.

Veldsman, who picked up a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke on Monday, doubled her medal tally at the Complexe Tour de l’Ouef with a strong performance in the 100m breaststroke as she finished in a time of 1:09.48 to secure the silver medal, with Japan’s Mana Ishikawa winning gold in 1:08.81.

Veldsman shared an emotional review of her silver medal performance.

“I have had to sacrifice a lot over the past few years. I have moved away from home and I have had to move schools which has been difficult. I came to Dakar not expecting to podium, but to win two medals in two days is amazing. The hard work and sacrifices have paid off. It is a wonderful feeling.”

The South African swimming squad will be back in the pool on Wednesday with Eric Kotze competing in the 50m freestyle and the 50m butterfly and will be looking to add to the growing Youth Olympic medal tally for Team South Africa. One more medal and they will have gone past the five they collected in Buenos Aires in 2018 and start chasing down the record nine from Singapore in 2010.