Tuioti leads Pacific swimming results at Youth Olympic Games

There’s been success beyond the podium for Pacific athletes at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal.

Headlining the results has been 17-year-old Sāmoan swimmer Kobe Tuioti, the only Pacific athlete to feature in the men’s 200m backstroke final.

The young talent from Salelologa has finished seventh overall, clocking a time of 2:14.10 for a strong kick-off to his campaign.

Tuioti has also gone on to break his existing 100m freestyle record in the heats, recording a new time of 55.18 seconds.

He is set to feature in two more events: the 100m backstroke tonight and the 50m backstroke on Thursday evening (11:18pm NZT).

Speaking to Sāmoan media, Tuioti says representing his country makes him feel very proud and brings him honour in representing his family and his culture.

Teammate Nafanua Hamilton has enjoyed a strong start to her campaign, clocking 59.13 seconds in the women’s 100m freestyle to finish fourth in her heat.

The 16-year-old will race in the women’s 100m backstroke tonight (11:37pm NZT), before competing in the 50m freestyle and 200m medley on Wednesday.

Having been named flag bearer at the opening ceremony, Hamilton points to what she hopes to contribute as a Sāmoan athlete.

Team Sāmoa athletes will compete across three sports at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games: swimming, triathlon and athletics.

“The legacy I want to leave behind is someone who gave it my all, and representing my country… the best I could.”

Several other athletes from across the Pacific have also been competing at the Dakar Aquatic Centre, with Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands represented on the international stage.

Day one saw Tonga’s Luseana Limoni and Alexandar Viliami competing in the 100m freestyle.

Limoni finished with an overall time of 1:07.01, ranking 56th out of 64 athletes, while Viliami finished 45th out of 73 athletes, clocking 55.78 seconds.

Fiji’s Grace Khelan finished inside the top 20 of the women’s 100m freestyle, recording a time of 59.65 seconds.

The 14-year-old will feature in three more events, including the 50m freestyle, where she claimed gold at the New Zealand Swimming Championships earlier this year.

Cook Islands swimmer Alicia Story has featured, finishing 12th overall in the women’s 100m butterfly, while Papua New Guinea’s Roxanne Kirarock competed in the 100m freestyle.

Story’s teammate and flag bearer Carter Makira is set to compete in the men’s 100m breaststroke later tonight.

The 2026 Youth Olympic Games began on October 31 and will run through to November 13.