Kotze Books a Third Sprint Final as Veldsman Chases a Third Medal in Dakar

South Africa's Eric Kotze wins his heat and qualifies fourth for the men's 50m backstroke final, his third final in two days, Chanel Veldsman reaches her third breaststroke final, and four African swimmers wait as reserves, as 58 African swimmers from 33 nations race on day five

DAKAR, Senegal, Thursday 5 November 2026 – Eric Kotze keeps finding new ways into finals. A day after racing the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly finals within an hour of each other, the 16-year-old South African won his heat of the men's 50m backstroke at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in 26.51 and qualified fourth for this afternoon's final.

It gives Kotze finals in three different strokes, all at 50m, in the space of two days.

He will be joined in the afternoon session by teammate Chanel Veldsman. The South African, already a silver and bronze medallist in the breaststroke, qualified fifth for the women's 50m breaststroke final in 32.72 and has a chance to win a third medal of the Games.

Four more African swimmers finished ninth or tenth to become reserves, and in total 58 African swimmers from 33 nations raced across the four events at the Complexe Tour de l'Oeuf.

Kotze: Three Strokes, Three Finals

Kotze swam from lane four in the third heat of the men's 50m backstroke. With a 0.58 reaction he won the heat in 26.51, finishing 0.48 behind Greek top qualifier Nikolaos Papatheodorou (26.03).

His three finals so far: eighth in the 50m freestyle, fifth in the 50m butterfly, and now a fourth-fastest qualifying time in the 50m backstroke.

Rakotobe and Rieck in Reserve

Africa came close to having three swimmers in the men's 50m backstroke final. Madagascar's Tendry Rakotobe was ninth in 27.35, just 0.12 behind the eighth qualifier, Cyprus's Andrew Marcus Laghoutis, and is first reserve. Kenya's Jeremy Rieck, a two-time butterfly finalist this week, was tenth in 27.49 and is second reserve.

Nigeria's Aidan Dumuje-Abili was 11th in 27.71 with a 0.56 reaction, and Namibia's Lorenzo Esterhuizen was 12th in 27.81. Botswana's Tema Modirelabangwe had the joint-second-fastest reaction of all 33 swimmers (0.53) and won the second heat in 29.95. Rwanda's Ntwali Jayden, 14, was again the youngest swimmer in the field.

Sixteen African swimmers from 16 nations raced the event.

Veldsman: A Third Breaststroke Final

Chanel Veldsman was second in the third heat of the women's 50m breaststroke in 32.72. That placed her fifth overall, 0.55 behind Japan's Ishikawa Mana, who beat her to gold in both the 200m and 100m, and 0.74 behind Lebanon's Thea Obeid, the top qualifier in 31.98.

After bronze in the 200m and silver in the 100m, Veldsman goes into her third breaststroke final of the Games.

Omri: Reserve Again

Tunisia's Ilef Omri again had the fastest reaction in a breaststroke field (0.61), as she did in the 100m. She finished tenth in 34.30, 0.21 outside the final, and is second reserve, after being first reserve in the 100m breaststroke on Tuesday.

Madagascar's Oceane Rakotonanahary (12th, 34.65) and Ghana's Jada Yankey (14th, 34.91), at 14 the youngest swimmer in the event, also finished in the top 16. Kenya's Macrine Kalombo won the second heat in 36.35, with Uganda's Zara Marie Mbanga second (36.51). Algeria's Kamelia Amalie Mezzaour made her first appearance in our coverage, 26th in 37.89.

Bock in Reserve in the 50m Breaststroke

In the men's 50m breaststroke, Namibia's Nathan Bock was tenth in 30.04, 0.61 outside the final, and is second reserve. Ghana's Tamba Akin Boamah (11th, 30.27), Senegal's Nael Voisin (13th, 30.55), Kenya's Neo Olengo (14th, 30.60, with a 0.60 reaction) and Eswatini's Luca Fraser (16th, 30.66) all finished inside the top 16, with Morocco's Mohamed Taj Eddine Larhlimi 18th in 31.01.

Libya's Yousef Elwalid won the second heat in 32.58, and Sierra Leone's Peter Bewie had the second-fastest reaction in the field (0.58). Gabon's Ozavino Ngaka, 15, was the youngest swimmer in the event.

Women's 50m Backstroke: Matyayi Leads Again

Namibia's Roselinda Matyayi was once more the fastest African in a women's backstroke event, 14th in 30.61. Botswana's Melodi Saleshando won the third heat in 30.87 for 19th overall, with a 0.57 reaction. Cabo Verde's Kaila Dacruz (27th, 31.89), Nigeria's Kristabel Chisa Oldeide (30th, 32.47) and Ghana's Mercedes Abdallah (31st, 32.50) followed. Senegal's Sokhna Faty Ndiaye, 17, made her first appearance in our coverage, 34th in 32.96. Thirteen African nations were represented.

Looking Ahead to the Afternoon Finals

Kotze in the men's 50m backstroke and Veldsman in the women's 50m breaststroke carry Africa's medal hopes into this afternoon's finals. Rakotobe, Rieck, Omri and Bock are on standby as reserves. Africa's swimming medal count stands at five. The swimming programme at Dakar 2026 continues at the Complexe Tour de l'Oeuf.

Results: African Swimmers – Day 5 Heats

African Finalists and Reserves

Women's 50m Backstroke – Heats (Field: 45; Final Cut-Off 29.81)

Men's 50m Backstroke – Heats (Field: 33; Final Cut-Off 27.23)

Women's 50m Breaststroke – Heats (Field: 34; Final Cut-Off 34.09)

Men's 50m Breaststroke – Heats (Field: 32; Final Cut-Off 29.43)

Session Participation

58 individual African swimmers from 33 nations: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

African Swimming Medal Tracker – Dakar 2026 (Cumulative)

Ages as at 5 November 2026, from dates of birth on the results.

Sources: Official Results Summaries, Day 5 Heats (Women's and Men's 50m Backstroke and 50m Breaststroke), Dakar 2026 (Thursday 5 November 2026).