Day 1 Roundup: Ecuadorian swimmer claims opening gold as Wushu makes Olympic debut at Dakar YOG

DAKAR, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's Elvira Espinosa won the first gold medal of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in swimming on Sunday, as wushu made its Youth Olympic debut.

Espinosa won the women's 400m freestyle in a personal-best time of 4:22.87.

"I feel so happy to win the first gold medal here at this Youth Olympic Games. I'm so grateful to all the people who support me," Espinosa told Xinhua, adding, "That's my best result in all the competitions I had, and this gold medal is the best of the best."

South Africa's Leah Markgraaff took silver in 4:26.13, while Belgium's Celya Paques claimed bronze in 4:28.37.

Argentina's Cecilia Dieleke won the women's 200m backstroke in 2:10.05, while New Zealand's Ariel Muchirahondo claimed the men's 200m backstroke title in 1:59.15. Russia's Serafima Fokina won the women's 100m butterfly in 59.81 seconds, while Egypt's Zain Ali clocked 52.16 to take gold in the men's 100m butterfly.

In judo, Azerbaijan's Ibrahim Talibov won the men's 55kg title, Ukraine's Khazar Heydarov triumphed in the men's 66kg category, and Sema Yuksel of Türkiye claimed the women's 44kg crown.

At the Dakar Exhibition Center, wushu made its Youth Olympic debut, with athletes from 47 delegations competing across four combined events: men's and women's Changquan combined, and men's and women's Taijiquan combined.

China's Lin Yilei topped the men's Changquan combined preliminary round to advance to the knockout stage.

U.S. athlete Marshall Brayton, who finished third in the men's Taijiquan combined preliminary round, said: "It's a really big moment in Wushu. I hope we can continue on this upward trend and become more globalized."

The wushu competition will continue through November 3, when all four gold medals will be decided. Its inclusion in the Dakar YOG marks a significant step in the sport's Olympic development while bringing an element of traditional Chinese sports culture to Africa.

Chinese athletes also made strong starts in several other events.

In badminton, Zhang Yixin defeated Finland's Ananya Kandala 2-0 in the women's singles group stage, while Hong Tianyue beat Indonesia's Rayhan Pandu Aksara 2-1 in the men's singles.

In women's beach volleyball, China's Zhuang Ming and Qi Siyu defeated Paraguay's Sofia Martinez and Maria Estefania Gomez Martinez 2-0 in their final pool match. The Chinese pair finished the preliminary stage with a 2-1 win-loss record to advance to the knockout stage.

In coastal rowing beach sprints in Saly, Su Juntao and Liu Lili defeated Mexico in the mixed double sculls knockout round to reach the quarterfinals. Su also advanced in the men's solo event after recording the second-fastest time of 2:30.95 in the second time trial.

China had mixed results in table tennis. Yao Ruixuan beat Venezuela's Dakota Ferrer and Algeria's Tania Morice, both 3-0, in the women's singles group stage, while Li Hechen defeated Germany's Jonas Rinderer 3-0 and Türkiye's Gorkem Ocal 3-1 in the men's singles, giving both Chinese players two wins.

However, Li and Yao lost 3-1 to Japan's Ryuusei Kawakami and Miku Matsushima in the mixed doubles quarterfinals, missing out on a place in the semifinals.

Yao said her performance fell short of expectations, as she felt somewhat restrained and conservative on court. "I hope I can let go more in the matches ahead and play each match well," she said.

Li said he entered the competition with the mindset of challenging his opponents. "I'll take it one match at a time and fight for every point. I can't afford to relax on any point," he said.

The Dakar YOG marks the first time an Olympic sporting event has been held on African soil. Competitions are being staged across Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, combining sport with cultural exchange as the Olympic movement opens a new chapter on the continent.

Nine gold medals will be up for grabs on Monday in swimming, judo, coastal rowing beach sprints and rugby sevens.