Kenya’s swimming campaign in Dakar included a sixth-place butterfly final finish for Jeremy Mutwii Rieck.
Jeremy Mutwii Rieck finishes sixth in the 50m butterfly final, while Kenya’s baseball5 team takes fourth place at the Dakar Youth Olympics.
Kenyan swimmers missed out on medals at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics, but Jeremy Mutwii Rieck reached a landmark final. He finished sixth in the men’s 50m butterfly at the Complexe Tour de l’OEuf Stadium in Senegal.
Rieck became only the second Kenyan swimmer, after Jason Dunford, to reach a major international final. His performance marked a milestone for Team Kenya on the fourth day of swimming competition.
Kenyan swimmers compete against strong field
Rieck secured his final place after finishing third in Heat 5 with a time of 25.05 seconds. He then clocked 25.07 seconds in the final against some of the world’s strongest swimmers.
Although he fell short of the podium, reaching the final represented a significant step in his swimming career. His final time was just 0.02 seconds slower than his qualifying performance.
Meanwhile, Macrine Kolombo finished fifth in her heat of the women’s individual medley, recording 2:35.23. Neo Olengo also competed in the men’s 50m freestyle, finishing fourth in his heat.
However, Olengo’s time did not earn him a place in the final. Kenya’s search for swimming medals will continue in the remaining events on Saturday.
Baseball5 team finishes fourth as basketball awaits
Meanwhile, Kenya’s baseball5 and judo teams returned home on Thursday without podium finishes. The baseball5 team placed fourth overall after losing to Mexico in the third-place play-off.
Kenya had opened its preliminary campaign with victory over France before also beating Mexico and Syria. Those results secured a semi-final place, where the team faced world champions Cuba.
However, Cuba ended Kenya’s hopes of winning gold with victory in the semi-final. Mexico then reversed its preliminary-round defeat to Kenya to claim the third-place contest.
In judo, Rael Kulova remained positive despite missing her target of a Youth Olympic medal. She hopes to use the lessons from Dakar to improve in future international championships as she develops in the sport.
Alongside the remaining swimming races, basketball 3×3 offers Kenya another opportunity to pursue medals on Saturday. The Kenyan girls will begin their Group A campaign against China and Fiji.
