Her time of 1:09.48 is a new personal best. Japan’s Mana Ishikawa won gold, clocking in at 1:08.81. Hong Kong’s Wui Kiu Man took third place with her time of 1:10.33.
The result came a day after the 17-year-old learner from Die Hoërskool Menlopark and TuksSport won bronze in the 200m breaststroke at the Complexe Tour de l’Œuf in Dakar. Her time of 2:30.87 was also a new personal best for that event.
“I knew today was going to be more competitive. It was going to be much harder than the 200m because of how close our times were, but I think I didn’t really look at the podium placing; I just tried to get a PB in my race. So ja, I just tried to work on my race plan,” she said.
Veldsman was very emotional after her silver medal performance.
“I have had to sacrifice a lot over the past few years. I have moved away from home, and I have had to move schools which has been difficult. I came to Dakar not expecting to podium, but to win two medals in two days is amazing. The hard work and sacrifices have paid off. It is a wonderful feeling.”
Earlier in the day, 16-year-old Matthew Goller of Hatfield Online School and also training at TuksSport, narrowly missed out on a medal in the Men’s 400m Freestyle. His time of 3:57.91 was just short, and he finished in third place.
Chanel’s gold is Team South Africa’s second gold and fifth medal overall at Dakar 2026, after Leah Markgraaf’s silver in the 400m freestyle and her own bronze in the 200m breaststroke in the pool; the SA u17 Rugby Sevens team‘s silver; and Callum Dreyer’s gold in the Men’s Coastal Beach Rowing event.
- Second medal for Veldsman at Youth Olympics - 2026-11-03
- Team SA wins first gold at Dakar 2026 - 2026-11-03
- South Africa u17 Sevens claims silver in Senegal - 2026-11-02
