Lawson swims to silver at Dakar 2026

New Zealand Team swimmer, Alyssa Lawson, has claimed a silver medal in the women’s 100m freestyle at Dakar 2026.

It’s a career-first international medal for the 16-year-old, who matched her personal best time in the final.

Lawson put together a strong performance, turning first at the 50m mark in 26.98, before charging for home to finish in 56.13, just 0.24 seconds behind gold medallist Ana Bobanovic (Croatia), who won in 55.89. Dhinidhi Desinghu (India) took bronze.

The performance equals her lifetime best recorded earlier this year at the Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Vancouver.

Lawson becomes the fourth New Zealand swimmer to reach the podium at a Youth Olympic Games, following Ariel Muchirahondo’s gold medal on day one, and Gabrielle Fa’amausili and Bobbi Gichard’s bronze medals from 2014.

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