Team SA on medals board and Sevens reach semi-finals at Youth Games

As the sun began to sink on day two of the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games, Team SA will have swimmer Leah Markgraaff to celebrate for getting the medals momentum, while the boys Sevens squad flexed their muscles ahead of what’s to come on the rugby field, where they have reached the semi-finals.

Markgraaff got Team SA on the medals table when she powered down the lanes to pick up the silver medal in the 400m freestyle at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

In the relentless low 30°C heat of the Senegalese capital, Markgraaff became the ninth swimming medallist for Team SA in their four appearances at the Youth Olympics, dating back to Singapore 2010.

Markgraaff finished with a time of 4:26.13, with only Elvira Espinosa, ahead of her. The Ecuadorian teenager won in 4min 22.87sec, with the South African touching second in 4:26.13, in the fastest heat to the 400m freestyle.

Markgraaff had led for the first two laps from Bulgaria’s Simona Ivanova, who took over the lead on the third lap and with Espinsosa improving into second, Maarkgraaf was in third at halfway (200m) in 2:10.21, only 0.36sec off the lead.

Still third through 250m, she started to come on strongly and went past a tiring Ivanoa and touched the wall a clear second with 100m remaining. That’s where she stayed to secure silver as the locals livened up the atmosphere by banging on drums.

Climbing out the water at the open-air Dakar Aquatic Centre, the 17-year-old South African shared her thoughts and feelings by the mixed zone with her hair dripping and her smile beaming.

“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.”

Markgraaff was one of the standout performers at the 2025 Africa Youth Games in Luanda, Angola, picking up three gold medals and she has continued her medal winning habit in the Dakar. Markgraaff shared her thoughts on the difference between the Games last year, and the Youth Olympics now.

“All of this is quite new to me. I have only competed in Africa before against African athletes, so the other nations are all new to me. There is certainly a level up in standard and it is amazing to compete against them.

“The conditions here are quite similar to Angola in terms of the water temperature, so l believe that experience in Luanda gave me much needed experience in these conditions.”

Markgraaff went on to express what it meant for her to be Team SA’s first medallist at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. “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.”

The Youth Olympic silver medallist will be in action again on Monday as she looks to add to her medal tally in the 100m freestyle. Chanel Veldsman will also be competing on Monday in the 200m breaststroke and will be looking to join in on the medal haul for Team SA.

Markgraaff’s silver medal augurs well for her future when she steps up to senior level. Chad le Clos picked up three silvers and a gold in his Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010 and went on to become South Africa’s greatest men’s swimmer ever.

Other swimmers to have won medals at the Youth Olympics are Dylan Bosch (bronze, 2010) and the boys 4x100m freestyle relay squad, bronze, 2010), Michael Houlie (gold, 2018) and Dune Coetzee (silver, 2018).

Markgraaff rightly claimed all the headlines but the Sevens boys laid down a marker to the rest of the countries in competition in the fourth Youth Olympics, this one being held in the Senegalese capital and on African soil for the first time.

The rugby sevens squad cruised through their Pool A games, defeating Senegal 43-5, Canada 24-1, and Germany 34-7 to book a semi-final spot against Argentina (1.42pm local time, 3.42pm SAST). The other semi-final sees France take on Canada.

They scored seven tries against Senegal, four against Canada (Darnell Delport and Dandre Brink earning two apiece) and six against Germany (Brink again with two tries, along with Dave Jake).

Afterwards, coach Sandile Ngcobo, reflected on a hard-fought day. “I thought we started well in our first match and hit a bit of a bump again Canada but games like that help teach us valuable lessons. We know we have to face Argentina in the semi-final tomorrow which we are looking forward to. Playing against the top teams is the best way to measure ourselves, so we’re feeling ready for Monday.”

Team SA are heavily favoured to win a medal. They topped a pool consisting of Canada, Germany and Senegal, while Pool B had France, Argentina, Japan and Uganda in the line-up.

The bronze medal match is scheduled for 6.38pm (SAST), followed by the gold medal match at 7.05pm (SAST). The last time the Youth Olympics was held, in 2018, Argentina won the gold medal, France took silver and Japan beat South Africa in the bronze match.

Badminton got under way with Misha Bredell narrowly losing to the Algerian Oussama Keddou 2-0 (21-17, 21-10).

The beach volleyball pair of Evra King and Duncan Davids, finished their pool games with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-10) loss to Chile and a 2-0 (21-15, 21-11) loss to Nicaragua, to conclude their Youth Olympic journey.

Monday promises plenty more action as Callum Dreyer will be back in action for the Round of 16 in the rowing coastal beach sprints and Bredell will be competing against the No 4 seed from Chinese Taipei Chuang Yung Neng in his second group stage match and the judoka Adriaan Schutte will be competing in the -81kg Round of 16.

The first salvoes of competition at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games have been fired and Team SA rower Dreyer was the day one standout. The 16-year-old finished fourth in the solo time trials and earned him an automatic slot in the last-16. While at the athletes’ village, Dreyer shared his background in rowing and the path he has taken.

“I only began rowing 15 months ago for my school, Hilton College. The moment that solidified my love for rowing was when my team and I won the national championships. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience.”

In the short span of time that Dreyer has been rowing, he has continued to improve and has earned his spot as the only rower for Team SA in Dakar. The tall and polite athlete was apprehensive ahead of his Olympic debut, as it was also his debut in the coastal beach sprint event.

“This competition is completely unknown to me. I would love to give a prediction or a goal I am aiming for but I just do not know what will happen. The other athletes are also about a year older than me as they are 17, or close to 17 and I have only just turned 16. I have not got the same experience that they do but I am going to give it my best and see what happens. No matter what, this will be incredible experience for me.”

Fast forward 24 hours, and Dreyer was third overall in his run with a time of 7.87sec and fourth overall in the rowing with his time 2:35.94, which qualified him fourth, automatically sending him through to the final 16 on Monday. After his time trial, the promising talent shared his thoughts. “I am over the moon with my performance. The conditions were tough and the water was choppy, but I pushed all the way and it’s amazing to qualify in fourth.”

Dreyer enjoyed a day off to train and relax ahead of the Round of 16 on Monday. The complete unknown has been conquered by the young rower and now he looks to make strides in the upcoming wave of competition.