Athletics competition at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games is set to begin on Sunday 8th to Tuesday 10th November at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop, with a new wave of African talent hoping to make their mark in Dakar.
The Youth Olympic Games has seen past competitors go on to compete at the Olympic Games, with some even becoming Olympic champions.
Spearheading Nigeria’s track and field medal hope is Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo. The 17-year-old rising star has had a busy year competing on both the junior and senior stages.
Nwankwo earned a senior call-up earlier this year at the World Relay Championships in Gaborone, Botswana helping the women’s 4x100m team secure qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
In May, Nwankwo participated at her first senior African Athletics Championships in Accra, winning gold in the 4x100m and reaching the 200m semi-final.
She then went on to compete at the 2026 World Junior Championships in Oregon, finishing sixth in the 100m semi-final in 11.54 seconds.
Nwankwo’s continental achievements include winning silver in both the 100m and 200m at the African U18/U20 Athletics Championships in 2025.
Rosemary Nwankwo will compete in the women’s 100m on Sunday 8 November.
Kenyan middle-distance athlete David Kapaiko Sekento has already proven himself on the world stage, winning silver in the men’s 1500m at the 2026 World Junior Championships in Oregon.
This time, the 16-year-old will compete in the men’s 800m, hoping to add another global medal to his collection on Monday 9 November.
South Africa’s Megan Nieman, an emerging talent over the hurdles, will aim to make her mark in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Youth Olympic Games.
Nieman announced herself at the 2025 African U18/U20 Championship, claiming gold in the 100m hurdles and silver in the 400m hurdles to cap off a successful championship.
At the 2026 World Junior Championships, Nieman doubled up in the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles, exiting at the semi-final stage in both events.
In the 400m hurdles semi-final, the 17-year-old was out-dipped at the line and agonisingly missed out on a place in the final, finishing fourth in 57.56.
Nieman will open her account on Monday 9 November.
Ethiopian middle-distance runner Elsabet Amare is be one to watch in the women’s 1500m on Tuesday 10 November.
Amare’s personal best of 4:01.32 ranks her second on the World U18 ranking list this year. At the 2026 World Junior Championships, the 17-year-old finished fourth in the 1500m.
Amare will be leading Ethiopia’s medal charge at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games next week.
Kelly is a London-based sportswriter driven by a love for sport, with track and field at the heart of it. She began her journey as a sports reporter covering women's football, and has since gone on to cover major international competitions, including the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for Eurosport.
She breaks up her excessive screen time by running laps around the park or planning her next holiday!
