Kenyan swimmers improve despite missing medals in Dakar

Kenya’s Jeremy Rieck competes in the men’s 100-metre butterfly during the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday. [NOC-K Media]

Beyond breaking records and chasing glory, youth and age-group sporting events such as the ongoing Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics are the world’s most dynamic classrooms without walls for future stars.

For Team Kenya swimmers in Dakar, they have been on a learning curve that has seen them improve stroke by stroke though missing on the podium may not be a true reflection of their achievements. Competing against the world’s top swimmers at the Complexe Tour de l’OEuf Stadium in Senegal, Jeremy Mutwii Rieck made a milestone in his swimming career as he reached the final of the men’s 50m butterfly contest.

This feat made him the only second Kenyan to make it to the final of a major event after Jason Dunford.

Team Kenya records another milestone on Day Four of swimming competition at the Youth Olympic Games, taking place at the as Jeremy Mutwii Rieck becomes only the second Kenyan swimmer to reach a major international swimming final. He booked his place in the final after finishing third in Heat 5, recording a time of 25.05 seconds and demonstrating determination, speed and impressive form in a highly competitive field. He carried that momentum into the final, where he faced some of the world’s strongest swimmers, clocking 25.07 seconds to finish sixth overall.

Macrine Kolombo clocked 2:35.23 to finish fifth in her hit of the women’s individual medley race. In the men’s 50m freestyle, Neo Olengo also took to the pool, putting up a spirited performance to finish fourth in his heat. However, his time was not good enough to secure qualification for the final.

Meanwhile, the baseball 5 and judo teams that represented the country in Dakar jetted in the country on Thursday after putting up a good fight despite not securing podium finishes. The baseball team had a fairly good outing finishing fourth overall after losing to Mexico in the third-place play-offs.

They were impressive in their preliminaries as they beat France in their opening match then followed it with another victories against Mexico and Syria to book their place in the semi-finals. Nevertheless, their hopes of winning gold were crushed when they lost to world champions Cuba in the semis and were forced to settle for fourth place after the Mexicans avenged their group stage loss.

Promising judoka Rael Kulova remained positive even though she fell short and failed to achieve her aim of winning a Youth Olympic medal. Having gained invaluable lessons in Dakar, Kulova is keen to bounce back and excel in future international championships as she looks to grow in the sport. Team Kenya’s medal hunt will continue on Saturday in basketball 3X3 and the remaining swimming events. The Kenyan girls will launch their basketball 3x3 campaign in Group A against China and Fiji.