China claims first gold in coastal rowing, adds 2 swimming silvers at Dakar YOG

China claimed its first gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Monday as Su Juntao and Liu Lili triumphed in the mixed double sculls event in coastal rowing beach sprints, while Chinese swimmers Xie Yichen and Chang Mohan each secured silver.

Gold medalists Su Juntao/Liu Lili (R) of China react during the awarding ceremony after the mixed double sculls gold medal race of the rowing coastal beach sprints between Su Juntao/Liu Lili of China and Lukas Schoenhuber/Alena Lux of Austria at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Saly, south of Dakar, Senegal, Nov. 2, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Wei)

Under the scorching sun in Saly, Su and Liu defeated crews from the United States, France and Austria to win the title, securing China's first gold of the Games and the inaugural Youth Olympic gold in the event.

"This is the most significant title we've won this year," Su and Liu said after the race.

Noting that the pair had won the under-19 title at the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Qingdao, China, in mid-October, coach Fei Penghui said: "We had high expectations of winning the gold medal before the competition."

"The Youth Olympic Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They earned their places here through hard work," he added, highlighting the significance of winning gold in a discipline making its Youth Olympic debut.

The pair also advanced to the quarterfinals of their respective individual events after defeating opponents from Estonia and France. They will bid for individual titles on Tuesday.

Coastal rowing beach sprints combine running on sand with rowing through open-water waves. Athletes sprint from the beach to their boats, row around an offshore buoy, return to shore and make a final dash to the finish line. The discipline is also set to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

Four swimming gold medals were decided, with Croatia's Ana Bobanovic winning the women's 100m freestyle in 55.89 seconds and Russia's Bogdan Toropkin claiming the men's 100m freestyle title in 49.66. Japan's Mana Ishikawa triumphed in the women's 200m breaststroke in 2:26.50, while compatriot Iori Miyazaki won the men's 200m breaststroke in 2:12.33.

China's Xie took silver in the men's 100m freestyle, while Chang finished runner-up in the women's 200m breaststroke.

After the race, Xie said he had yet to find his best form. "I definitely need to make some adjustments. There are still three more chances to fight for gold, and I hope to seize them," he added.

Chang said she would review her performance carefully, identify and address areas for improvement, and strive to perform better in the upcoming events in the hope of "standing atop the podium."

Chinese athletes also performed strongly in several other events. At the Dakar Exhibition Center, the wushu taolu competition continued, with China's Lin Yilei qualifying first for the men's Changquan combined final.

Wushu will enter its final day of competition on Tuesday, when four gold medals will be decided in the men's and women's Changquan combined and men's and women's Taijiquan combined events.

The International Wushu Federation (IWUF) said at a media briefing on Sunday that wushu's Youth Olympic debut was the result of decades of collective effort by the global wushu community, adding that the first Olympic sporting event held on African soil offered a valuable opportunity to share the sport's beauty, cultural richness and values with young people worldwide.

The IWUF said it would continue working with its member federations and partners to make the sport more accessible and widely recognized.

In badminton, Zhang Yixin and Hong Tianyue each recorded their second group-stage victory, beating Portugal's Rafaela Silva and Denmark's Axel Boesen 2-0 in the women's and men's singles, respectively.

In table tennis, Li Hechen and Yao Ruixuan both won in straight games to complete unbeaten 3-0 records in the group stage and advance to the men's and women's singles round of 16.

In beach volleyball, China's Zhuang Ming and Qi Siyu defeated a Malaysian pair 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals.

In rugby sevens, France defeated South Africa 26-19 in the men's final to claim gold, while Argentina beat Canada to take bronze. The women's competition also got underway, with China losing 12-5 to Kenya and 21-15 to Australia.

In judo, Kazakhstan's Fatima Supygaliyeva won the women's 52kg title, Germany's Jolina Reinhold triumphed in the women's 63kg category, and Slovenia's Maks Cebulj claimed the men's 81kg crown.

Chinese Taipei and Cuba will compete for the Baseball5 title on Tuesday, while gold medals will also be decided in women's rugby sevens and mixed doubles table tennis. Judo will award two more gold medals, while five swimming titles will be decided.