03 Nov 2026

Botswana swimming duo of Melodi Saleshando and Tema Modirelabangwe is scheduled to make their splash at the ongoing Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal on November 4.

Saleshando will take the blocks in the women’s 50m freestyle preliminary round, while Modirelabangwe will look to secure a semifinal berth in the men’s 50m butterfly. 

The swimming heats are expected to test the aquatic speedsters against the world’s elite youth talent as Botswana continues its hunt for its first podium finish in Senegal.

Team Botswana press attaché, Clifford Mooketsi, has confirmed that the two swimmers were in high spirits and physically ready for the competition 

Mooketsi said while the competition in the pool had a competitive and globally stacked field, the technical team was confident about Botswana’s prospects.

“The swimmers are ready to dive in. It is a stacked field, but we are very confident that our athletes are going to give a good account of themselves and perform well,” he said.

Meanwhile, Team Botswana’s captain, Theresa Tagarira missed out on a podium finish in the judo competition after losing a bronze medal match to her opponent Rosalvick Aguilar of Venezuela in the 44kg category.

Despite missing out on silverware, national judo coach, Thato Lebang was impressed with the young judoka’s overall display.

“I am generally happy with her performance, but unfortunately, she fell out in the bronze final. It was just a slight misjudgment on her part, which is something we will correct for future competitions,” he said.

Lebang said it was a learning curve for her future development, adding that he was happy because this was her first major international competition and she managed to fight all the way to a bronze medal match. ENDS