Malawi athletes have experienced mixed fortunes at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal.
Swimmers Danielle Lilly Kanjadza and Tasunje Mkavea posted improved performances but missed out on qualification for the next rounds.
Kanjadza competed in three events with her best performance coming in the women’s 100-metre (m) freestyle where she finished second in heat one in 1:12.66 on November 2.
Kanjadza. | Courtesy of MOC
The time was a personal best for the swimmer although it was not enough to secure qualification.
She also finished sixth in the 100m butterfly heat in 1:30.41 on Sunday before returning to the pool on Wednesday where she clocked 32.09 seconds to finish fourth in heat two of the women’s 50m freestyle.
Kanjadza also competed in the women’s 50m butterfly on Wednesday, finishing seventh in heat one in 38.34 seconds.
Her compatriot Mkavea finished fourth in heat three of the men’s 100m freestyle in 58.23 seconds before clocking 1:10.15 to finish sixth in heat two of the 100m breaststroke.
On Wednesday, Mkavea competed in the men’s 50m butterfly and finished eighth in heat five in 27.01 seconds.
He was scheduled to return to the pool yesterday at press time.
Meanwhile, Malawi’s participation in judo ended on Monday after Happiness Mtukula lost to Algeria’s Berrahoual Dounia in round of 16 before another loss to Abir Bouazzaoui in repechage quarter-finals.
Malawi Olympic Committee general secretary Henry Sakala described the general performance as fair.
“I think they are competing fairy,” he said.
