Poor facilities held back Senegal's medal-free Youth Olympics team, parents say

The swimmers had been forced to train in club pools, some just 20 metres long, because the Olympic pool was closed to them for four years, one mother told RFI.

"We can't expect a lot from these young people while giving them so little," said Nafi Touré, whose son Naël Lamine Voisin was among Senegal's six swimmers at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympics.

The Senegalese Swimming Federation defended its preparations, pointing to training camps in China and Senegal, but acknowledged the need for long-term government support.

Last hope

Voisin's hopes of reaching the final ended on Thursday when he finished fifth in his 50-metre breaststroke heat, becoming the last Senegalese swimmer to compete at the Games.

"I'm not disappointed. I'm reasonably satisfied," he told RFI. "I was hoping to reach the final, but I didn't manage it."

He did not beat his personal best in the race, but said he had significantly improved his record in the 100-metre breaststroke the previous day. Senegalese swimmer Naël Lamine Voisin after a record day at the national championships in 2025.

A year after RFI met him at Senegal's national swimming championships, where he dominated the competition, Voisin has grown stronger and more muscular. He credits his mother with helping him reach the Games.

"Without my mother, I wouldn't have been able to get here," he said.

Voisin's ambitions extend beyond Dakar. He hopes to compete at senior level and qualify for the Olympic Games in the United States in 2028. He has already secured a scholarship from the International Olympic Committee that runs until the Brisbane Games in 2032.

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Parents' concerns

Touré, along with other parents and supporters, was ready in the stands to embrace her son after his race. A former fencer, who went to the Olympics in Athens in 2004 and then in Beijing in 2008, she knows the pressure of major competitions.

"I feel proud. I'm proud that Senegal was represented and that these young people pushed themselves to the limit. I'm not just talking about Naël."

Touré said the swimmers' first experience of a major international competition should not be judged solely by their finishing positions. Her son had to deal with stress and emotion in front of supporters, while also improving his time in a 50-metre pool.

But she said the young athletes needed better support and greater involvement from the government if they were to make further progress. Nafi Touré, former fencer and mother of Naël Lamine Viosin, takes her son in her arms after his last swimming race at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, November, 2026.

The mother of another swimmer, Rassoul Lèye, who finished third in his 100-metre backstroke heat but failed to qualify for the next round, also defended the team's performance.

"Even without a medal in swimming, they deserve congratulations, not criticism," Maïmouna Diakhaté told RFI.

But her pride doesn't erase her regrets about the support provided to swimmers: "We can't expect a lot from these young people while giving them so little." She is calling for better infrastructure and more investment from the government.

She questioned whether the athletes had been given the facilities needed to compete at international level.

"The Olympic pool was closed to them for four years," Diakhaté said.

"The swimmers trained in club pools, sometimes 20 metres long, while national competitions were held in 20 or 25-metre pools. They also had to attend classes. If we want these young people to reach the same heights as others, we must give them the necessary conditions to achieve this."

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Long-term support

Senegal entered six swimmers at the Dakar Games, compared with just two at the previous Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, said Maguette Dièye, president of the Senegalese Swimming Federation.

The larger team was possible because Senegal was hosting the competition.

The swimmers had also benefited from two training camps in China, each lasting two months, as well as camps at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, which has a 50-metre pool.

Because the athletes are still at school, these camps must take place during weekends or holidays, Dièye explained.

"The main thing now is to prepare for the post-Youth Olympic Games period with long-term support from the government and the Ministry," he said. "The 2028 Olympic Games may be coming too soon, but we hope to have swimmers qualified for Brisbane 2032." Ayo, the mascot of Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

A more immediate step would be to reopen the swimming training centre that operated between 2019 and 2022, said Mohamed Diop, president of Africa Aquatics and a former multiple-time Senegalese champion. He said the centre had produced good results.

Diop pointed to Malick Fall, a four-time Olympian who returned from France to coach swimmers in Senegal, as evidence that the country already has experienced coaches.

"The problem is not the lack of a top-level coach," Diop said. "What's needed is the infrastructure and to give athletes the necessary conditions to prepare for 2032."

This article was adapted from the original version in French by RFI's Ndiasse Sambe.