Long before the bright lights of the international stage came into view, Arthur Mwase found his happiness in the water, where swimming began as something he simply loved to do.
Today, that same passion is carrying him towards the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games, a journey that is less about chasing the spotlight and more about discovering his full potential.
With the opportunity to represent his country, race against some of the world’s most promising young swimmers, and measure just how far his love for the sport can take him, Mwase is preparing to turn a childhood passion into an unforgettable international experience.
As the countdown to the Youth Olympics continues, the Ugandan swimmer heads to Dakar, Senegal, with growing confidence, the lessons of a productive year, and a refreshing outlook on what it means to compete at the highest level of youth sport.
For a swimmer preparing for his first international competition, the excitement is understandable. Yet, Mwase’s ambitions extend beyond the results on the scoreboard.
“I’m really excited. This is my first time being selected for an international competition, so I’m really looking forward to learning, competing with people from all over the world,” he said.
“I just swam for fun. It just makes me happy. My purpose in swimming is just to be the best swimmer I can be. So, these are just steps along my journey,” Mwase explained.
That philosophy is central to his approach as he prepares for Dakar. Rather than allowing the magnitude of the Youth Olympics to overshadow the experience, he is embracing the opportunity to learn, meet fellow athletes, and enjoy the competition.
Mwase’s selection for the Youth Olympics comes after a productive year in which his performances have reflected the benefits of consistent training and preparation.
From the Uganda Aquatics Swimming League to the national championships and the ANOCA Games, the young swimmer has steadily built momentum, particularly in freestyle.
He is scheduled to compete in the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle events, three races in which he has been making encouraging progress throughout the year.
“This year has been really good for us. We’ve had some strong training. I think our performance has been good due to training going well. The league was good. All through this year was good,” he said.
For Mwase, the improvements have not happened overnight. He traces much of his progress to the work put in during the previous year, when a strong training block laid the foundation for the performances he is now producing.
“I think most of this started from last year. We had a really good training block last year, so we’re just reaping the fruits,” he said.
The results have offered a welcome reminder that progress in swimming is often built long before the big competitions arrive. The hours spent training, refining technique and working towards faster times have gradually translated into better performances.
His improvement across the three freestyle distances is particularly encouraging as he prepares to face international competition. Each race presents a different challenge, demanding a balance of speed, endurance, pacing and race execution.
“I’ve been progressing through those races. I’ve been getting faster throughout this year. So it’s good to see that the fruits of my labour are coming to fruition,” he said.
The swimming competition at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games is scheduled to take place from November 1 to 6 at the Dakar Aquatic Centre, part of the Egg Tower Complex in Senegal.
With 30 swimming medal events on the programme, the competition will bring together young swimmers seeking to test their abilities against international opposition.
For Mwase, the prospect of competing at this level represents a significant step forward. It will be his first international competition, allowing him to experience a new competitive environment and learn from athletes from different countries.
Yet, despite the excitement surrounding his selection, he is not travelling with the intention of allowing expectations to define his experience.
Asked what he hopes to take into the Youth Olympics following his performances at the ANOCA Games, his answer was straightforward.
“I’m really just excited to learn, see people from other countries, meet with them and just have fun,” he said.
For a young athlete still building his international experience, learning how other swimmers approach competition can be just as valuable as the races themselves.
Dakar therefore represents more than a destination. It is another step in a journey that Mwase hopes will continue to unfold through hard work, steady improvement and a willingness to learn.
Away from the international stage, Mwase also has a competitive environment waiting for him at home. He is one of three swimming brothers, a family dynamic that brings its own motivation to training and competition.
Rather than describing the relationship as a source of pressure, he sees it as an opportunity for all three to push one another towards improvement. “We are really close, so they really motivate me,” he said.
“Especially me and my older brother, we’ve been around the same times our whole life. And we do a lot of things together in terms of swimming. So, there’s a lot of competition between my older brother and me,” he explained.
With the two swimmers often recording similar times, each has a familiar training partner and competitor capable of pushing the other to improve.
For Mwase, the distinction is important: competition within the family does not create unnecessary pressure but instead provides an additional source of motivation.
If Mwase has learned anything from his progress this year, it is that a swimming season rarely follows a perfectly smooth course.
Despite his encouraging performances, he has also dealt with injuries and disappointing outings at some galas. Those experiences have taught him that success requires more than celebrating personal bests or enjoying the excitement of a victory. It also requires the ability to respond constructively when things do not go according to plan.
His advice to younger swimmers and teammates looking up to him is built around that principle. “Consistency. Just working hard every day. There are going to be ups and downs,” he said.
He believes swimmers must learn to manage both their successes and disappointments. “Don’t get too excited in your big wins or get too demotivated when you have losses. Just stay even-keeled,” he advised.
Alongside his swimming commitments, Mwase is also a candidate this year, making his preparations for the Youth Olympics part of an already demanding schedule.
Balancing schoolwork with training and competition has required careful planning, particularly when the demands of the classroom threaten to compete with the time needed in the pool.
Fortunately, homeschooling has given him a degree of flexibility, allowing him to organise his schedule around his academic responsibilities and swimming programme.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be a homeschooler, so I can work my schedule around that. But it’s still very stressful,” he said.
The flexibility has not eliminated the challenge. At certain points, Mwase has had to reduce the number of training sessions he completes in a week to accommodate his school workload. Finding that balance has been essential to maintaining progress in both areas.
The boy who once swam simply for fun is heading to Dakar with a growing body of experience behind him and plenty more to discover. His ambition remains refreshingly simple: to be the best swimmer he can be.
And as his journey continues, the Youth Olympics is not the finish line. It is another important stroke forward.