ORAN, ALGERIA — 6 May 2026 — The 17th African Swimming Championship delivered its most pan-African day yet on Wednesday evening, as eight different nations reached the medal podium across an electric programme at the Piscine Olympic Miloud-Hadefi. Tunisia, Senegal, Madagascar, Mauritius, Togo and Namibia all stamped their names on the medal sheet alongside the established powerhouses of Egypt, South Africa, Algeria and Zimbabwe — a vivid reminder that the African Championship is, at heart, a continental story.
Hosts Algeria gave their faithful the moment they had craved through Abdellah Ardjoune. Egypt's Mohannad Yasser produced the swim of the day. South Africa's junior queen Scarlett Le Roux sealed her third gold of the meet. And, in finals stretched from sprint butterfly to 200m backstroke, the depth of African swimming was on full display.
Yasser Roars Home in 200m Freestyle Thriller
Egypt's Mohannad Yasser produced the highest-scoring swim of day two, blasting to gold in the Men's 200m Freestyle in 1:49.35 for a hefty 811 AQUA points. South Africa's Matthew Caldwell (1:50.73), already the 800m champion, claimed silver, while Algeria's Fares Benzidoun (1:51.97) sent the home crowd into raptures with a brilliant bronze. South Africa's Tumelo Mahan, Algeria's Mohamed Racim Semmar, Cape Verde's Rohan Shearer (1:54.70 — a superb sub-1:55 swim), Senegal's Amadou Ndiaye and Madagascar's B. Andriampenomanana rounded out a rich final.
Ardjoune Sends Oran Wild Again in 200m Backstroke
Algeria's Abdellah Ardjoune produced the home roar of the night, taking the Men's 200m Backstroke title in 2:02.40. Egypt's Abdelrahman Amr (2:03.80) closed hard on the final 50 to grab silver, with South Africa's Juan Boshoff (2:04.00) holding off Benin's Alexis Kpade (2:04.55) and Sudan's Ziyad Saleem (2:04.89) — a final featuring five different national flags inside the top five and a powerful symbol of the meet's continental reach.
Ramadan Doubles Up; Eaton Earns Silver
Youssef Ramadan added a second gold to his Oran tally, dominating the Men's 50m Butterfly in 23.68 for 831 points. South Africa's Jarden Eaton (23.98) and Tai Lee Shmanov Pearson (24.14) made it a Cape Town-flavoured silver and bronze, with Nigeria's Colins Ebingha, Mauritius' Bradley Vincent, Senegal's Matthieu Seye, Kenya's Stephen Ndegwa and Algeria's Med Abdelhakim Hamour completing the final.
In the boys' equivalent, Zeyad Ashry (EGY) edged a thriller in 24.16, just one-hundredth ahead of teammate Zain Hesham (24.17), with South Africa's Nicholas John Pretorius (24.21) a further blink behind for bronze.
Belghith Brings Tunisia to the Top
Tunisia's Habiba Belghith delivered a statement performance to win the Women's 100m Breaststroke in 1:12.05 (705 pts), holding off South Africa's Keira van Heerden (1:13.31) and Mauritius' Alicia Kimberley Kok Shun (1:14.52). Algeria's Lina Mahi and Monia Dounia Chaar thrilled the home crowd with fourth and fifth, ahead of South Africa's Sarah Leigh Mc Laren, Namibia's Molina Smalley and Nigeria's Dorcas Oka.
Diop Sprints Senegal to Gold
Senegal's Oumy Diop produced one of the swims of the night, blazing to victory in the Women's 50m Butterfly in 27.03 for 738 points. Uganda's Gloria Anna Muzito (27.61) and Zimbabwe's Anje van As (27.66) — both already gold medallists in Oran — claimed silver and bronze. Kenya's Imala Bella Thorpe, South Africa's Van Heerden and Van der Westhuizen, Gabon's Noelie Lacour and Algeria's Lilia Sihem Midouni completed the final.
Lange and Niemand Power South Africa's Breast Charge
South Africa's Oliva Nicolas Lange took the Men's 100m Breaststroke in 1:02.67, with Madagascar's Harivony Jonathan Raharvel (1:03.05) producing a sensational silver and Algeria's Oussama Allam (1:03.50) earning bronze for the hosts. Namibia's Jose Canjulo, Algeria's Abderaouf Hafiane, Mauritius' Hans Dylan Li Ying Pin, Kenya's Haniel Kudwoli and Mozambique's Matthew Lawrence rounded out the eight. In the boys' final, Zaine Niemand (RSA) won in 1:03.46 from Mauritius' Aidan Josh Li Ying Pin and South Africa's Cole Martin in a near photo-finish for silver.
Le Roux Makes It Three; Abdallah and Hussam Take 200 Free Glory
Scarlett Le Roux secured her third individual gold of the championship, winning the Girls' 200m Freestyle in 2:06.45 ahead of Egypt's Darin Adel and South African teammate Leila Kate Yazbek. Egypt's Yousr Ismail and Algeria's Melissa Rouibi made it a thrilling top five separated by less than a second, with Namibia's V. De Sousa, Tunisia's Ilef Zouaghi and Algeria's H. Nouioua completing the final.
In the senior race, Egypt's Lojine Abdallah stopped the clock at 2:03.26, edging Zimbabwe's Anje van As (2:03.68) and Uganda's Gloria Anna Muzito (2:03.70) by the narrowest of margins in a three-way thriller. Moaz Hussam (EGY) won the Boys' 200m Free in 1:51.93 from Algeria's Mehdi Dahamna and South Africa's Adrian van Wyk.
Coetsee, Van der Linde, Van Wyk Rule the Backstroke
Isabeau Lila Coetsee powered to gold in the Women's 200m Backstroke in 2:16.42, ahead of Mauritius' Anishta Teeluck (2:19.26) and Algeria's Meroua Merniz (2:19.85). Tunisia's K. Chachay, Algeria's Jihane Benchadli and Libya's Malak Almukhtar added to the continental flavour. M. Van der Linde led a South African one-two with Cassidy Burgess in the girls' equivalent, with Egypt's Lamar Nabil taking bronze. Adrian van Wyk completed his banner day with gold in the Boys' 200m Backstroke in 2:02.02. Cassidy Burgess also stormed to victory in the Girls' 50m Butterfly, where Kenza Boukari (Togo) and Roselinda Matyayi (Namibia) delivered a memorable silver-and-bronze for two of Africa's smaller swimming nations.
Ganat Karem and Egypt Strike on Day Two
Egypt's Ganat Karem held off South Africa's Leila Kate Yazbek to win the Girls' 100m Breaststroke in 1:13.49, with Madagascar's Oceane Rakotonanahary earning a popular bronze in 1:15.50. Tunisia's Ilef Omri finished fourth ahead of Roman, Zimbabwe's Neema Bhulabhai and Botswana's Yun-Suh Chang.
South Africa Conquer Mixed Medley Relay
South Africa anchored a thrilling Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay in 3:56.78, edging hosts Algeria (4:00.47) and Egypt (4:05.14). Mauritius, Kenya, Namibia, Angola and Uganda completed a wonderfully diverse final, with Mauritius' Bradley Vincent producing a stunning 49.63 freestyle leg and Uganda's Gloria Muzito anchoring her quartet in 55.99.
Onward to Day Three
Wednesday's programme produced medals for swimmers representing Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tunisia, Senegal, Madagascar, Mauritius, Togo and Namibia, with finalists also flying the flags of Cape Verde, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Benin, Sudan, Libya, Botswana, Burundi and Angola.
Action resumes on Thursday, 7 May 2026, when the 50m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 50m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, 100m backstroke, 400m IM and the 4x200m freestyle relay will headline day three of the 17th African Swimming Championship.
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