2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games Day 6 Recap!

Day 6 of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games launched into historic territory as the athletic action shifted onto the track, beach wrestling made its highly anticipated debut, and emerging nations shook up the top tier of the leaderboard! With packed crowds across Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly, the first Olympic event on African soil is delivering some of the most competitive multi-sport drama of the week.

Day 6 Highlights: Athletics Spark, Historic African Sweeps & Wrestling Debuts

Day 6 (Friday, November 6) featured spectacular track performances and incredible photo finishes:

Athletics Heats Explode: At the newly renovated Iba Mar Diop Stadium in Dakar, track and field events officially took center stage. The men's 100m preliminary heats electrified the local crowd as Senegal's Amadou Diallo stormed to a blistering 10.42 seconds to secure his spot in the semi-finals, matching a personal best.

Historic Fencing Sweep for Egypt: In Diamniadio, Egypt completely dominated the men's individual foil event. In an all-North African masterclass, Abdelrahman Tolba claimed the gold medal, leading a historic 1-2 finish for Egypt over teammate Ahmed El-Amoury, marking the nation's most dominant day on the strip.

Beach Wrestling Debuts in Saly: The sands of Saly Beach West hosted the high-energy debut of Beach Wrestling. In the women's lightweight division, Nigeria's Blessing Chidi claimed a historic inaugural gold medal, pinning her opponent in a thrilling final match that sent the traveling Nigerian fans into a frenzy.

Swimming Records Shattered: At the Tour de l'Œuf Complex, the swimming program neared its conclusion with stunning results. Australia's rising star, 16-year-old Flynn Southam, put on a masterclass in the men's 200m freestyle, breaking the Youth Olympic record with a sensational time of 1:46.11 to capture gold.

Day 6 Gold Medalists

• Track and Field, Women's 3000m: Lemlem Tekle (Ethiopia)
• Fencing, Men's Individual Foil: Abdelrahman Tolba (Egypt)
• Beach Wrestling, Women's Lightweight: Blessing Chidi (Nigeria)
• Swimming, Men's 200m Freestyle: Flynn Southam (Australia)

THE DAKAR 2026 LEADERBOARD: OFFICIAL MEDAL COUNT

Updated through Day 6 (Friday, November 6).

• 1. Japan (JPN) — 12 total medals | 7 gold | 2 silver | 3 bronze. Highlight: Holding the top spot globally driven by unmatched pool dominance and steady gymnastics additions.
• 2. China (CHN) — 11 total medals | 5 gold | 4 silver | 2 bronze. Highlight: Adding a clutch silver in the women’s 3000m to complement their massive rowing and combat haul.
• 3. Egypt (EGY) — 6 total medals | 4 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Surging into the top three globally following a historic gold-silver sweep in men’s individual foil fencing.
• 4. Russia (AIN) — 5 total medals | 3 gold | 2 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Maintaining a strong top-tier presence fueled by Bogdan Toropkin’s early sprint freestyle titles.
• 5. New Zealand (NZL) — 5 total medals | 2 gold | 3 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Blistering paces across early aquatic and timed endurance races.
• 5. Croatia (CRO) — 5 total medals | 2 gold | 3 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Ana Bobanović setting a high standard with phenomenal freestyle sprint performances.
• 7. South Africa (RSA) — 5 total medals | 1 gold | 3 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Reaching historic team benchmarks behind Chanel Veldsman’s emotional breaststroke medals.
• 8. Germany (GER) — 4 total medals | 1 gold | 2 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Fighting through tough brackets for podium finishes in judo and beach volleyball.
• 9. Australia (AUS) — 3 total medals | 1 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Flynn Southam setting a blistering new Youth Olympic record to secure swimming gold.
• 10. Hong Kong (HKG) — 3 total medals | 1 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Poon Hao Ran capturing the gold medal in the men’s taijiquan combined final.
• 10. Austria (AUT) — 3 total medals | 1 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Paul Hohenauer and Martin Poinstingl winning an incredible, unbeaten gold in men’s beach volleyball.
• 10. Lithuania (LTU) — 3 total medals | 1 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze.
• 13. Portugal (POR) — 2 total medals | 1 gold | 1 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Artur Gaspar claiming a historic and dominant triumph on the Saly triathlon course.
• 13. Netherlands (NED) — 2 total medals | 1 gold | 1 silver | 0 bronze.
• 13. Romania (ROU) — 2 total medals | 1 gold | 1 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu breaking the 28-second barrier to capture backstroke gold.
• 16. Argentina (ARG) — 4 total medals | 1 gold | 0 silver | 3 bronze. Highlight: Exceptional early outings across judo categories and middle-distance freestyle pools.
• 17. Brazil (BRA) — 2 total medals | 1 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze.
• 17. France (FRA) — 2 total medals | 1 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Clinching the highly coveted Rugby Sevens crown.
• 17. Turkey (TUR) — 2 total medals | 1 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze.
• 20. Nigeria (NGR) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Blessing Chidi wrestling her way to gold in the high-energy debut of Beach Wrestling.
• 20. Ethiopia (ETH) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Lemlem Tekle dominating the final laps of the 3000m to secure an iconic track title.
• 20. Cuba (CUB) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Making sport history as the first-ever Olympic gold medalists in Baseball5.
• 20. Czech Republic (CZE) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Zdenek Prochazka claiming gold in the high-stakes men’s 50m freestyle sprint.
• 20. Azerbaijan (AZE) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze.
• 20. Ecuador (ECU) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Elvira Espinosa claiming the first gold medal of the Games in the women’s 400m freestyle.
• 20. Kazakhstan (KAZ) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze.
• 20. Kenya (KEN) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: An epic golden-point extra time victory to claim a dramatic gold medal over Australia.
• 20. Saudi Arabia (KSA) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Rami Bilal A Alrahmouni capturing a historic first-ever Youth Olympic swimming medal in the 400m freestyle.
• 20. Singapore (SGP) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze. Highlight: Ng Zhe Nin capturing the coveted title in the women’s taijiquan combined event.
• 20. Slovenia (SLO) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze.
• 20. Ukraine (UKR) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze.
• 20. United States (USA) — 1 total medal | 1 gold | 0 silver | 0 bronze.
• 33. Chinese Taipei (TPE) — 4 total medals | 0 gold | 2 silver | 2 bronze. Highlight: Securing a dramatic silver in Baseball5 alongside steady bronze medals in the pool.
• 34. Greece (GRE) — 3 total medals | 0 gold | 2 silver | 1 bronze.
• 35. India (IND) — 3 total medals | 0 gold | 1 silver | 2 bronze. Highlight: Unprecedented Youth Olympic medal breakthroughs across both swimming and wushu routines.
• 36. Canada (CAN) — 2 total medals | 0 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze.
• 36. Indonesia (INA) — 2 total medals | 0 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Asael Christo Jacob Rondonuwu capturing a silver in the changquan routine.
• 36. Iran (IRI) — 2 total medals | 0 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze.
• 36. Spain (ESP) — 2 total medals | 0 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze.
• 36. Venezuela (VEN) — 2 total medals | 0 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze.
• 36. Vietnam (VIE) — 2 total medals | 0 gold | 1 silver | 1 bronze.
• 42. Jordan (JOR) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 1 silver | 0 bronze.
• 42. Serbia (SRB) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 1 silver | 0 bronze.
• 42. Uzbekistan (UZB) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 1 silver | 0 bronze.
• 45. Madagascar (MAD) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Securing the nation’s first-ever Olympic medal at any level with an iconic bronze basketball victory.
• 45. Burundi (BDI) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Don de Dieu Igiraneza delivering a stirring victory to capture judo bronze.
• 45. Cyprus (CYP) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze.
• 45. Mexico (MEX) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze. Highlight: Carrying the team through high-pressure matchups to lock in Baseball5 bronze.
• 45. Switzerland (SUI) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze.
• 45. Tajikistan (TJK) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze.
• 45. Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) — 1 total medal | 0 gold | 0 silver | 1 bronze.

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.

With the leaderboard shaking up and the track now in full swing, stay with ARDN for continued coverage from Senegal as the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games race toward an unforgettable finish!