Ugandan swimmer Zara Marie Mbanga will arrive at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games carrying confidence built through a breakthrough season.
Mbanga, who turns 15 on October 11, will represent Uganda in three swimming events at the Games.
The Jaguar Swim Club swimmer will contest the 50m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley in Senegal.
Swimming at Dakar 2026 will run from November 1-6, with the overall Games scheduled from October 31-November 13.
The competition will also carry historic significance as the first Olympic sporting event staged on the African continent.
For Mbanga, however, Dakar represents another major step in a development curve already featuring national records and strong domestic performances.
At the 2025 ISF Under-15 World School Sports Games in Serbia, she clocked 2:32.69 in the 200m individual medley.
That performance was reported as a Ugandan national record, while her 1:10.68 in the 100m backstroke also set a national mark.
She also recorded 2:53.74 in the 200m breaststroke during the same competition, gaining valuable experience against international opposition.
Mbanga has since continued lowering her times while establishing herself among Uganda’s strongest swimmers in the girls’ age-group categories.
At the Uganda Aquatics National Championships in July, she broke the girls’ 13-14 50m breaststroke national age-group record.
She also accumulated 195 individual points to emerge overall champion in her age category for Jaguar Swim Club.
Her progress has continued into the closing months before Dakar.
At the Uganda Aquatics Independence Swimming Gala, Mbanga won the breaststroke in 35.67 seconds, backstroke in 32.77 and freestyle in 28.71.
Those performances made her the fastest girl across the three events she contested at the competition.
Her recent results suggest Dakar will be about more than simply gaining experience on the Youth Olympic stage.
Mbanga has set herself the target of producing personal bests while challenging Uganda’s swimming records in Senegal.
“I hope to make personal bests, hopefully new national records, and make my country, my team and my parents proud.”
The Shree Sahajanand student has also represented Uganda at Africa Aquatics Zone III and Zone IV competitions.
That regional exposure, combined with her experience in Serbia, means Dakar will not be her first encounter with international competition.
It will, however, comfortably represent the biggest stage of her young swimming career.
“This is an even bigger competition than the one I went to before,” Mbanga said. “I’m very happy that I was chosen.”
Dakar 2026 will bring together about 2,700 young athletes across 25 competitive sports and 153 medal events.
Team Uganda for Dakar 2026
Athletics: Baskaline Cherotwo, women’s 1500m; Racheal Chelimo, women’s 2000m steeplechase; Keren Chelimo, women’s 3000m; Michael Kibet, men’s 2000m steeplechase; Timothy Cheptoek, men’s 800m
Badminton: Ramiah Bukenya, women’s singles
Cycling: Ali Ssali, men’s road race and individual time trial
Coastal rowing: Marcel Otim, men’s solo C1x beach sprints
Rugby sevens: Victor Ampiire, Bonamy Bwambale, Trey Rugamba Gateja, Jeremiah Iragaba, Sanyu Katushabe, Moses Kibeti, Deogracious Muliira, Shafik Okole, Abdulrahman Ongima, Almadi Otema and James Ssebuufu, men’s tournament
Swimming: Mary Peyton Suubi, women’s 400m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke; Marie Mbanga, women’s 50m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley; Mark Arthur Mwase, men’s 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle; Peterson Inhensiko, men’s 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly
Table tennis: Jemimah Nakawala, women’s singles and mixed doubles; Joseph Sebatindira, men’s singles and mixed doubles