Argentina's Cecilia Dieleke wins Dakar 2026 gold with a South American record
The 17-year-old won the 200m backstroke at the Youth Olympic Games on Sunday 1 November in 2:10.05, more than five seconds clear of second place. It is a senior South American record and Argentine swimming's first gold at these Games, which are for young athletes, not the senior Olympics.
By halfway she was swimming on her own. Cecilia Dieleke touched the wall in the 200m backstroke in 2:10.05 on Sunday 1 November at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. Greece’s Eirini Zervou, in second, finished 5.47 seconds later, according to La Gaceta.
“I’m really well, really happy. This is what I came for. It’s a dream come true,” the swimmer said after the race.
A record that beats the seniors
The time is a senior South American and Argentine record, not just an age-group mark. It improves by 0.31 seconds the 2:10.36 set by Malena Santillán in August 2025, and cuts just over a second from Dieleke’s personal best, according to Infobae.
It was Argentina’s first gold of these Games and the country’s first swimming title at any Youth Olympic Games. This is the fourth edition of the event, for athletes aged up to 17, and the first held in Africa.
From gymnastics to the pool
Dieleke was born in October 2009 and comes from San Martín, in Buenos Aires province. She started in artistic gymnastics before switching to swimming at the Sociedad Alemana de Gimnasia de Villa Ballester, where she has swum since she was six, according to La Gaceta and Infobae.
Two days later she added a second medal in Dakar: bronze in the 100m backstroke in 1:00.83, in a final where the top three were separated by 0.85 seconds.
Eyes on Los Angeles
Her next goal is no longer a junior one. “I dream of going to Los Angeles. I hope it happens. And if not, it will be 2032,” she told Infobae. The Los Angeles Olympics take place in 2028. Before that, she still had the 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke to swim in Dakar.
Sources
- La Gaceta (in Spanish) · Cecilia Dieleke breaks the South American record and gives Argentine swimming a historic gold (01-11-2026)
- Infobae (in Spanish) · Cecilia Dieleke wins swimming gold at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (01-11-2026)
- Infobae (in Spanish) · Who is Cecilia Dieleke, the Argentine swimmer with two medals at Dakar 2026 (03-11-2026)
