Croatia’s Ana Bobanović led the way in swimming as France won the men’s rugby sevens title on a thrilling second day of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
Bobanović claimed gold in the women’s 100 metres freestyle, touching the wall in 55.89 seconds. New Zealand’s Alyssa Lawson finished second in 56.13, while India’s Dhinidhi Desinghu took bronze in a personal best of 56.27.
Desinghu’s medal marked one of India’s first two podium finishes at the Games. The Paris 2024 Olympian once feared water so much that she ran home from the pool in her swimsuit.
Japan also celebrated its first medals of the competition with a double victory in the 200m breaststroke.
Ishikawa Mana won the women’s title in 2:26.50, finishing ahead of China’s Chang Mohan and South Africa’s Chanel Veldsman.
Miyazaki Iori then secured gold in the men’s event with a time of 2:12.33. Lithuania’s Domas Vilimas took silver, while Uzbekistan’s Muhammadismail Rahmonov completed the podium.
France claim rugby sevens gold as China triumph in rowing
France won the men’s rugby sevens gold medal after a 26-19 victory over South Africa in the final.
Argentina claimed bronze with a convincing 36-5 win against Canada.
In coastal rowing beach sprints, China’s Su Juntao and Liu Lili won the mixed double sculls title in 2:22.37.
Austria’s Lukas Schoenhuber and Alena Lux finished second, while France secured bronze.
Judo also produced three champions on Day 2, with Germany, Slovenia and Kazakhstan celebrating gold medal victories.
Germany’s Jolina Reinhold secured her country’s first medal of the Games with an ippon victory over India’s Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada in the women’s under-63kg final.
Slovenia’s Maks Čebulj needed golden score to defeat Iran’s Sobhan Hakimi in the men’s under-81kg contest. Čebulj secured victory with a yuko.
Kazakhstan’s Fatima Supygaliyeva completed the judo programme with an ippon win over Portugal’s Sofia Gaspar in the women’s under-52kg final.
Elsewhere, Paraguay beat Solomon Islands 9-2 in futsal, while Portugal defeated Morocco 4-1.
Chile’s Arias and Farias overcame Senegal’s Sibide and Ciss 2-0 in the beach volleyball round of 16. In baseball5, Cuba beat Kenya 2-0 to reach the final.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games continue on Tuesday, 3 November, with several gold medals up for grabs.
The baseball gold medal match begins at 16:30 Dakar time (GMT), followed by the women’s rugby sevens final at 17:03.
Table tennis will award its mixed doubles gold medal at 18:30, while swimming continues with backstroke and breaststroke finals.
With several nations still chasing their first titles, another exciting day of competition awaits in Dakar.
