The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games closed in Senegal on Friday with African teams winning 74 medals, a record for the continent at a single edition, and Egypt finishing fourth in the final medal table.
The Games, held from 31 October to 13 November, were the first Olympic event staged on African soil. The continent’s total passed the previous best of 56 medals, set at Buenos Aires 2018, according to the International Olympic Committee’s website, olympics.com, which counted 27 gold medals for African athletes.
How did African teams finish in the Dakar 2026 medal table?
Five African teams finished in the top 10 of the final medal table published by olympics.com. China led with 18 gold medals and 33 in total, ahead of Japan with 11 gold.
Egypt were the highest-placed African team in fourth, with six gold, one silver and five bronze. Three of the golds came from the swimmer Zain Ali, who won the men’s 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly. The Egyptian sports site FilGoal also reported, in Arabic, that Egypt had finished fourth with 12 medals.
Ethiopia were fifth with five gold and three silver, all on the track, in races from 800m to 3000m. Senegal, the hosts, were sixth with five gold and seven bronze. Kenya placed eighth with four gold and two silver, and South Africa ninth with three gold, five silver and three bronze.
Nigeria finished 17th with three gold medals, all in sprint events: the men’s and women’s 100m and the women’s 400m.
Which firsts did Dakar 2026 produce for Africa?
Senegal had never won a Youth Olympic medal before these Games, olympics.com said. That changed when Elisabeth Diatta beat Japan’s Reisa Kojima 5-1 to take gold in the women’s 55kg beach wrestling. The hosts added gold in men’s 3×3 basketball, two more beach wrestling titles and one in taekwondo.
On the last day of competition Senegal took bronze in both beach handball events, at Saly. The men beat Hungary 2-1 and the women beat France 2-1 after a shoot-out, according to the olympics.com report on the final day.
Kenya’s women became the first African team to win rugby sevens gold at a Youth Olympics. Mustapha Jadama’s silver in the men’s 400m was The Gambia’s first medal at any Olympic event, and Ropafadzo Mzondo’s 200m title was Zimbabwe’s first Youth Olympic medal, olympics.com said.
Morocco’s medals included silver for Maria Saadi in the women’s long jump and bronze for Khadija El Mostaqim in the 800m, the Moroccan outlet Le360 Sport reported in French.
How was the African medal total counted?
The figure of 74 medals is the total given by olympics.com on Friday: 27 gold, 15 silver and 32 bronze. The list of African medallists published on the same page names 17 silver medals, which would bring the total to 76. This report uses the lower, stated figure. Either number is well above the 56 won in Buenos Aires eight years ago.
The results are from youth competition, and success at this level does not guarantee senior medals. The Games also come during a busy week for African sport, with Africa Cup of Nations qualifying and the U23 AFCON qualifiers both under way.
What happens after Dakar 2026?
The last gold medal was awarded in the men’s individual sabre on Friday, and the closing ceremony was held that evening at the Youth Olympic Village in Diamniadio, east of the capital.
The Games brought several sports into the Youth Olympic programme for the first time, among them beach wrestling, coastal rowing, skateboarding, wushu and baseball5, olympics.com said. Kirsty Coventry, the IOC president, described the event as “extremely magical” in an interview with the site.
The next test for many of these athletes will be senior and junior continental championships, and for a few of them qualification for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
FAQ
How many medals did Africa win at Dakar 2026?
African teams won 74 medals, 27 of them gold, according to olympics.com. The previous record for the continent at one Youth Olympic Games was 56, at Buenos Aires 2018.
Which African country won the most medals at Dakar 2026?
Egypt ranked highest, in fourth place, with six gold, one silver and five bronze. Senegal also won 12 medals, with five gold and seven bronze, and finished sixth.
Where did Senegal finish at its home Youth Olympic Games?
Senegal finished sixth in the medal table with five gold and seven bronze, after never having won a Youth Olympic medal before.
Who topped the medal table?
China finished first with 18 gold medals and 33 in total, followed by Japan with 11 gold and 28 in total.
