Tendo Mukalazi: Five records, one bigger Olympic Dream

Tendo Mukalazi’s performance at the 2026 Dolphins Fast and Furious Gala was more than another successful weekend in the pool. It was a reminder of how far the 24-year-old has travelled in swimming and how much further he believes he still has to go.

At the ninth edition of the Dolphins Fast and Furious Gala held from 5–6 September, Mukalazi emerged as one of the defining figures of the competition, rewriting five meet records across the 15-and-over category. His performances came against a field featuring some of Uganda’s strongest swimmers and provided an early indication of his form as he continues to build towards bigger international ambitions.

For Mukalazi, Fast and Furious carries a significance that goes beyond medals, records and prize money. He has been part of the competition since he was a child, watching himself and an entire generation of swimmers grow through the meet.

“It’s always an honour for me to swim Fast and Furious because I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.”

That history gives the gala a special place in his swimming journey. What was once a competition for a young swimmer trying to make his mark has now become a stage on which an established international athlete is setting records.

“It brings up the memories,” Mukalazi explained. “Seeing me grow through swimming Fast and Furious and then seeing other kids come through swimming Fast and Furious is something that puts a smile on my face.”

Mukalazi’s five-record performance was particularly impressive because he did not arrive at the gala after an extended period of preparation.

According to the swimmer, training had only resumed on the Monday before the competition following a significant break.

Yet he immediately produced times that reset the Fast and Furious benchmark in several events.

He opened his record-breaking run with 58.61 in the 100m Individual Medley, lowering the previous mark of 59.28.

He followed that with 29.33 in the 50m breaststroke, improving the record from 30.00, before producing an exceptional 26.80 in the 50m backstroke, taking more than eight-tenths of a second off the previous 27.62 standard.

The biggest statement came in the freestyle.

Mukalazi stopped the clock at 22.93 in the 50m freestyle, smashing the previous Fast and Furious record of 23.26. He won the race comfortably, with Matthew Mwase second in 24.62 and Dolphins’ Pendo Kaumi third in 24.70.

The only event in which he narrowly missed adding another record was the 50m butterfly. His 25.86 was just 0.03 seconds outside his own meet record of 25.83, although it was still the fastest time in the race.

For Mukalazi, however, the records were not necessarily the target when he arrived.

“We started training on Monday, so I’ve been on a big break.

“These times are good times. Will take them towards the end of the season when I leave for school. See what we do there.”

The Fast and Furious Gala was only one chapter in what has been a significant year for Mukalazi.

He was also part of Team Uganda at this year’s Commonwealth Games, contributing to relay teams that broke national records in both the men’s relay and mixed relay.

That international experience has added another layer to his development. While individual swimming often places the entire responsibility on one athlete, relay competition demands speed, timing and the ability to perform as part of a unit.

His Fast and Furious showing suggests that the confidence gained on the international stage is translating back into individual events.

But Mukalazi is not presenting the five records as proof that he has arrived. Instead, he views them as evidence that he is moving in the right direction.

Behind the records at Fast and Furious is a much larger objective: Olympic preparation.

For an athlete chasing the highest level of international swimming, a strong short-course performance is encouraging, but it is only one measure of progress.

Mukalazi understands that distinction. “It shows that I’m doing okay for now, but there’s a lot of work to put in.”

That acknowledgement may be the most revealing part of his performance.

He is already one of the fastest swimmers in the field; his 22.93 freestyle and 26.80 backstroke victories demonstrated that, but he knows international swimming is not simply about dominating a domestic meet.

“There are a lot of big boys,” he said. “It’s not just me.”

Perhaps the most powerful element of Mukalazi’s Fast and Furious story is that he remains connected to the competition’s developmental roots.

While he stood at the centre of the 15-and-over races, younger swimmers were simultaneously creating their own moments.

The 2026 meet produced 25 new Fast and Furious records, with swimmers such as Liam Bbosa, Aya Adams, Shane Mugyenyi, Mushirah Nabatanzi, Gabriella Opolot and others establishing new marks across the age groups.

Mukalazi knows exactly what those young swimmers are experiencing because he was once one of them.

And his advice is deliberately simple.

“Just keep swimming. You never know what could happen.”

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