Long before representing their nation at the Olympic Games, some of Africa’s brightest track and field stars, including Yomif Kejelcha and Rosemary Chukwuma, had already made their mark on the Youth Olympic Games stage.
Ahead of the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG), taking place in Dakar, Senegal from 31 October to 13 November 2026, we look back at four African athletes who had progressed from the YOG podium to the Olympics.
Yomif Kejelcha – Ethiopia
Kejelcha’s success in Athletics began very early on in his career.
By the time Kejelcha arrived at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, the Ethiopian had built an impressive portfolio of titles, including World Youth and World Junior titles.
In Nanjing, Kejelcha outclassed the field to seal the title, finishing just under 10 seconds ahead of Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo in 7:56.20. Kenya’s Moses Koech took third, making it an all-African podium.
Building on that junior success, Kejelcha established himself at senior level.
Over the years, he has won World Indoor titles alongside World Outdoor silver medals.
He made his first Olympic appearance in Tokyo 2020, finishing seventh in a stacked men’s 10,000m final. He improved on that result at Paris 2024, finishing two places better in fifth.
The two-time Olympian has since made history on the road, setting the 10km and half marathon world records. On his marathon debut earlier this year, he became just the second athlete in history to break the two-hour barrier.
Rosemary Chukwuma – Nigeria
In 2010 and 2018, Nigeria topped the podium in the girls’ 100m event at the Youth Olympics. Rosemary Chukwuma was one of the athletes to claim gold.
At just 16, Chukwuma earned a senior bronze medal in the women’s 4x100m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. With all that momentum, she headed into the YOG later that year in fine form.
In the final at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Chukwuma held her form despite stumbling out of the blocks, beating St Lucia’s Julien Alfred in a windy 11.17 to take the title.
Years later, Chukwuma, then 22, made her first Olympic appearance at the Paris 2024 Games in the 100m. She progressed to the semi-finals after finishing third in her heat in 11.26.
The reigning Youth Olympic champion bowed out in the semi-finals, clocking 11.39 to finish eighth in a heat won by Alfred, who eventually went on to become Olympic champion.
Baboloki Thebe – Botswana
Before Baboloki Thebe became a two-time Olympian, he represented Botswana at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, where he won his first global medal as a junior athlete.
In the 200m final at the YOG, Thebe earned a silver medal behind USA’s Noah Lyles, who won in 20.80.
Unable to catch Lyles, Thebe hung on for second in 21.20, with Taiwan athlete Yang Chun-Han completing the podium in 21.31.
Thebe went on to reach the men’s 4x400m relay final at consecutive Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, winning bronze at the latter alongside Isaac Makwala, Zibane Ngozi, and Bayapo Ndori.
Since then, Botswana have emerged as a dominant force in the men’s 400m individual and relay events at the Olympic Games.
Berihu Aregawi – Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi became a double silver medallist at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
On the track, Aregawi clocked 8:09.17 to finish second behind Uganda’s Oscar Chelimo, who won the 3000m final in 8:08.20. He later got the better of him in the cross country event.
However, Aregawi missed out on the XC title to Kenya’s Jackson Muema by just one-hundredth of a second, with Chelimo finishing third.
Aregawi, then 20, made his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, finishing fourth in the men’s 10,000m final, just outside of the medals.
Three years later, he made the podium at Paris 2024, winning silver in the 10,000m to secure his first Olympic medal.
Away from the track, Aregawi set a world record in the 5km road race in Barcelona, which he has held since 2021.
Dakar 2026 – YOG
As the track and field action at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games gets underway on 8 November, a new generation of African athletes will hope to make their mark on the world stage.
Who will be the next stars to make the leap from the Youth Olympics podium to the Olympics stage?
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!
