Honor Fyfe has been named in the New Zealand Team for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, putting the 14-year-old Manly Sailing Club windsurfer on the world stage just months after she first picked up the equipment she'll race there.
The selection was confirmed by the New Zealand Olympic Committee alongside table tennis athletes Anzhuo (Angel) Han and August Xiao. Sailing at the Games gets underway on 8 November, with Dakar running a windsurfing-only programme for boys and girls at Saly Beach, roughly 80km from the Senegalese capital. Athletes will race the Techno 293 OD.
Fyfe won the Junior Female 6m title at the 2026 iQFOiL New Zealand National Championships in February, her first-ever iQFOiL regatta, just eight weeks after knee surgery. She sailed three days of heavy gusts against a world-class fleet that included seasoned Olympians and rivals from Australia, Norway, Mexico and Italy.
Earlier this month she backed that up at the Techno 293 Asian Championships in Langkawi, Malaysia, finishing seventh overall in the Under-17 Girls fleet. Across 14 races on the same Techno 293 she'll sail in Dakar, she posted a best finish of third, despite being among the youngest sailors on the water.
NZOC chief executive Nicki Nicol says Fyfe has earned her spot.
"New Zealand athletes have consistently achieved on the water across generations, and we're excited to see Honor continue that tradition at the Youth Olympic Games," Nicol said. "She has earned this opportunity through her commitment and performances, and we look forward to seeing her represent the New Zealand Team in Dakar."
"To represent New Zealand at a Youth Olympic Games is a significant achievement and recognition of their commitment to their chosen sports," Nicol added. "We know they will embrace the experience and we look forward to welcoming them into the New Zealand Team."
Fyfe's rise comes amid a broader surge for New Zealand windsurfing, with both the senior and youth programmes piling up results on the international circuit over the past year.
In May, 20-year-old Aimee Bright claimed silver at the iQFOiL European Championships in Portimão, Portugal, the biggest result of her career, then followed it with second at the Olympic Classes Regatta in Long Beach.
Veerle ten Have (ninth) and Stella Bilger (10th) also cracked the top 10 in the women's fleet at Long Beach, while Eli Liefting was eighth in the men's fleet. Josh Armit just missed the medal series in 15th, and Blake Hinsley finished 30th.
The team went again at the iQFOiL Class North American Championships at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. Ten Have and Bright fought out an epic women's battle, with Ten Have pipping her teammate by a single point in the final race for silver. Bilger was 11th, Daniella Wooldridge 14th. Armit took silver in the men's fleet, two points off top spot, with Liefting fourth and Hinsley seventh.
The youth squad delivered too. Finn Davies dominated, winning six of 10 races to claim the title, while Elbe White finished second overall.
Fyfe now carries that momentum into Dakar, where she'll line up as one of New Zealand windsurfing's brightest young hopes on the sport's biggest junior stage.
