2026 Dakar Youth Olympics Day 1 & Day 2 Recap

Youth Olympic Magic in Senegal: history is officially being made as the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games kick into high gear! As the first-ever Olympic event hosted on African soil, the energy across Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly has been nothing short of electrifying.

From historic firsts in the pool to hard-fought battles on the tatami and coastal beach sprints, here is everything that went down across Day 1 (Sunday, November 1) and Day 2 (Monday, November 2), including the complete lineup of gold medalists crowned so far.

Day 1 Highlights: Historic Firsts & Wushu's Debut

Following a stunning opening ceremony on Saturday evening, Day 1 (Sunday, November 1) launched right into competition with eight gold medals up for grabs.

The headline of the day belonged to Ecuador's Elvira Espinosa, who won the very first gold medal of the Dakar 2026 Games in the women's 400m freestyle. Her victory marked the first-ever Youth Olympic gold for Ecuador and the first Olympic swimming medal in the nation's history.

Day 1 also celebrated the official Youth Olympic debut of Wushu, alongside roaring home-crowd cheers when Senegal's Matar Diop earned a bronze medal in men's judo.

Day 1 Gold Medalists

• Swimming, Women's 400m Freestyle: Elvira Espinosa (Ecuador)
• Swimming, Women's 100m Butterfly: Serafima Fokina (Individual Neutral Athlete)
• Swimming, Women's 200m Backstroke: Cecilia Dieleke (Argentina)
• Swimming, Men's 100m Butterfly: Zain Ali (Egypt)
• Swimming, Men's 200m Backstroke: Ariel Muchirahondo (New Zealand)
• Judo, Women's −44 kg: Sema Yuksel (Türkiye)
• Judo, Men's −55 kg: İbrahim Talıbov (Azerbaijan)
• Judo, Men's −66 kg: Khazar Heydarov (Ukraine)

Day 2 Highlights: Beach Sprints, Rugby Thrills & Japanese Sweeps

Day 2 (Monday, November 2) saw the action heat up on land and sea. In Saly, China claimed its first gold medal of the Games as Su Juntao and Liu Lili dominated the mixed double sculls in Coastal Rowing Beach Sprints, another event making its Youth Olympic debut.

Over at the pool, Japan delivered a masterclass performance by sweeping both the men's and women's 200m breaststroke finals.

Meanwhile, the Rugby Sevens tournament wrapped up with high-intensity drama as France powered through to claim the gold medal over South Africa.

Day 2 Gold Medalists

• Swimming, Women's 100m Freestyle: Ana Bobanović (Croatia)
• Swimming, Women's 200m Breaststroke: Ishikawa Mana (Japan)
• Swimming, Men's 100m Freestyle: Bogdan Toropkin (Individual Neutral Athlete)
• Swimming, Men's 200m Breaststroke: Miyazaki Iori (Japan)
• Judo, Women's −52 kg: Fatima Supygaliyeva (Kazakhstan)
• Judo, Women's −63 kg: Jolina Reinhold (Germany)
• Judo, Men's −81 kg: Maks Čebulj (Slovenia)
• Coastal Rowing Beach Sprints, Mixed Double Sculls: Su Juntao & Liu Lili (China)
• Rugby Sevens, Men's Tournament: France

What a start to these landmark Games! Stay tuned as we cover Day 3 action, featuring more pool action, athletics qualifiers, and combat finals. Who are you rooting for?

The Red Card Campaign

Alongside the Games, the Red Card Campaign, led by the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN), UNESCO and their partners, aims to promote sport free from violence and discrimination.