Senegal Hosts Historic Youth Olympic Games to Bring Events to Africa

Senegal began hosting the Youth Olympic Games on Friday, marking the first time an Olympic event is held on African soil in a historic milestone for international sports.

About 2,700 athletes aged 14 to 17 are competing across 153 medal events in 25 sports through November 13 in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.

The competition arrives as African nations increasingly embrace major sporting events to boost development and assert a larger role in global athletics.

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry toured the Youth Olympic Village ahead of the opening ceremonies and praised the state of preparations.

"It is time for Africa, time for Senegal," said Kirsty Coventry, the International Olympic Committee president, upon arriving in the country.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was scheduled to officially open the games at the Diamniadio stadium alongside visiting heads of state and sports officials.

Several new disciplines are making their debut at the games, including Baseball5, Wushu, coastal rowing beach sprint and beach wrestling.

Taiwan secured an early victory in Baseball5 by defeating host Senegal 2-0 in their Group A opener at the compact tournament.

"I think I was a little too excited in the first game and my legs went a bit weak, but once I got into the rhythm, I played smoothly," said Hsu Tzu-yi, a Taiwanese athlete.

A refugee team featuring six athletes based in Kenya and Uganda is also participating in track and field, judo and taekwondo events.

"This is a first opportunity for Senegal and, by extension, for Africa, to discover new sports," said Thomas Dieme, a Senegalese student.

Organizers arranged cultural celebrations and performances for the opening event, featuring French actor Omar Sy and TikTok star Khaby Lame as ambassadors.

The games were originally scheduled for 2022 but were postponed by four years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysts note that Senegal will require reliable maintenance funding after the competition concludes to prevent venues from becoming unused facilities.