An appetite for victory

Standing on the top step of the podium, China's Chang Mohan broke into her widest smile, as the swimming competition at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games drew to a close.

"Honestly, it was the absolute worst I've felt physically and mentally during any competition in the second half of the year. I had failed to hit my targets in previous races. I was truly terrified coming into today," Chang told reporters.

"But it has turned out to be the happiest day of my entire stay here."

At the Complexe Tour de l'Oeuf, the 15-year-old Chinese swimmer faced a grueling schedule of three races last Friday, having already claimed two silver medals, but still searching for her first gold.

With temperatures exceeding 30 C at the outdoor pool, Chang had endured a difficult week marked by exhaustion, illness and disappointment.

In her Youth Olympics debut, Chang took silver in the 200m breaststroke final, finishing just 0.71 seconds behind Japan's Mana Ishikawa.

Gold continued to elude Chang when, in the women's 200m individual medley, she again finished behind Ishikawa.

As fatigue and the relentless heat continued to take their toll, an incident during the heats added to her anxiety.

With no backstroke flags to guide her, Chang struck the wall hard. "Heading into the afternoon final, I was terrified I'd swim right into the wall again," she recalled.

In the final, Ishikawa took an early lead before Chang mounted a strong challenge during the breaststroke leg, overtaking Slovakia's Stela Megelova. But her time of 2:13.90 left her 0.84 seconds short of gold.

"Given my condition, this result was pretty much what I expected," said an exhausted Chang. "I really gave it everything I had."

After two frustrating runner-up finishes, Chang, a flagbearer for the Chinese delegation, faced another setback on Thursday, despite having no races scheduled.

Struck by the same illness as teammate Xie Yichen, Chang battled a high fever and severe diarrhea. Determined not to leave Dakar with regrets, she said she "threw everything into recovering" in time for her final events.

"Honestly, I walked onto the pool deck with so much uncertainty. I had no idea how much of myself I'd be able to bring to the races," she said, reflecting on her final day of competition.

Her final day's campaign began at 10:16 am local time, when Chang arrived at the pool looking composed and went on to qualify third overall in the women's 200m freestyle heats. Her first task was complete, but two demanding finals still lay ahead.

First up was the 200m freestyle final, where Croatia's Ana Bobanovic, winner of both the 50m and 100m freestyle titles, was among the favorites.

The 17-year-old Croatian established a 0.73-second lead over the opening 100 meters, but Chang mounted her challenge in the third 50m stretch, overtaking Bobanovic before touching the wall first in 1:59.59.

When she saw her name at the top of the scoreboard, Chang raised her right arm and pointed her index finger toward the sky, celebrating a hard-fought and long-awaited gold medal.

"I really wanted this medal. I was hungry for this gold," she noted. "I told myself to just give it everything to win the 200m freestyle first — that way I'd have the confidence I needed to tackle the 200m butterfly."

Almost immediately after the medal ceremony, Chang took off her team tracksuit and dived back into the warm-up pool to prepare for her third and final race of the day, the 200m butterfly.

Less than an hour later, she delivered again. Chang built a 1.42-second lead over the opening 100 meters and held on to win in 2:09.93, claiming her second gold of the Games.

When it was finally over, Chang said her overriding emotion was "pure relief" at having overcome the physical and mental challenges of the week.

"I was more anxious than ever. By the time the 200m freestyle was over, my body was completely drained," she admitted.

"I told myself not to dwell on the negative factors."

As her energy reserves dwindled, Chang drew motivation from her teammates on the Chinese national team.

Inspired by swimmers such as Yu Yiting and Yu Zidi, Chang noted that competing in multiple individual events and relays in a single evening was routine for them.

She was, however, no stranger to demanding schedules herself, having previously contested the 800m freestyle and 200m butterfly back-to-back.

"Watching my teammates swim the 1,500m free and 400m individual medley back-to-back made me realize their workload was far more exhausting than mine. How did they push through it? How did they reset their mindset? I kept pondering that in my head," she said.

Xie, 16, who claimed two gold medals and a silver of his own in Dakar, also offered Chang encouragement.

"At one point, the anxiety completely took over. I was terrified I would break down before even touching the wall," said Chang. "Xie reassured me, telling me to just focus on getting my body back into the best possible shape. That, along with the unwavering support of our team, carried me through."

Despite winning two gold medals, she remained self-critical, recognizing that her performances had also exposed areas needing improvement.

"I struggled to adapt to the changes in environment and didn't meet those challenges head-on," Chang said.

"Even with the gold around my neck, the clock told a different story. I still have a considerable gap to close to catch up with the world's top swimmers."

Chang left Dakar after what she described as a "memorable and fulfilling" experience. Next on her schedule is the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing from Dec 1-6, where she will conclude her 2026 campaign.

"I hope to quickly regain my form and make the most of that competition before heading straight into winter training," Chang said. "During the offseason, I want to become a more well-rounded swimmer, building both my speed and aerobic base, while strengthening my mindset to handle pressure in high-stakes situations."

She also valued the experience of testing herself against different opponents, with her sights set firmly on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

"I hope to carry all those lessons and everything I've accumulated with me to Los Angeles, and, ultimately, bring my very best," Chang added.