The first medals of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) were awarded on Sunday, 1 November, following the swimming and judo events, while Kenya and Chinese Taipei secured places in the baseball5 semi-finals.
In swimming, Egypt’s Ali Zain won gold in the men’s 100m butterfly in 52.16 seconds, ahead of silver medallist Aleksej Kalanj and Slovakia’s Matiáš Krištof, who finished third. The result marked the first African gold medal of the Games.
In the women’s 400m freestyle, Ecuador’s Elvira Espinosa claimed the first-ever medal of these Youth Olympic Games. She won in 4:22.87, ahead of South Africa’s Leah Markgraaff and Belgium’s Célya Paques.
New Zealand’s Ariel Muchirahondo won the men’s 200m backstroke, ahead of Iran’s Parsa Shahshahani and Greece’s Nikolaos Papatheodorou. In the women’s event, Argentina’s Cecilia Dieleke took gold, ahead of Greece’s Eirini Zervou and Israel’s Ofir Simcha.
In judo, Senegal’s Matar Diop won bronze in the men’s under-66kg category. He shared the podium with Argentina’s Thiago Carvallo, while Ukraine’s Khazar Heydarov took gold ahead of Canada’s Anes Mati.
In the women’s under-44kg category, Türkiye’s Sema Yüksel won the final against Jordan’s Houda Wshah. Italy’s Sara Coni and Venezuela’s Rosalvick Aguilar took bronze.
In the men’s under-55kg category, Azerbaijan’s Ibrahim Talibov beat Croatia’s Jona Zvorc in the final. Zambia’s Elisha Zimba and Mongolia’s Tugskhuslen Tungalag finished third.
Kenya and Chinese Taipei reach baseball5 semi-finals
In baseball5, Kenya and Chinese Taipei secured their places in the semi-finals after recording their third group-stage victories on Sunday, 1 November.
Kenya beat Syria 2-0 in Group B, while Chinese Taipei secured the same result against Cuba in Group A.
Kenya will face the winner of Monday’s play-off between France and Cuba. Chinese Taipei will take on the winner of the match between Türkiye and Mexico.
Other competitions will also continue on Monday, 2 November, at venues across the host cities.
The Iba Mar Diop complex is hosting futsal and rugby sevens, while the Tour de l’Œuf complex in Point E is staging swimming and baseball5 events, alongside other disciplines.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games will run until 13 November, with events spread across Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
SS/te/Sf/lb/as/APA