The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, set to take place from October 31 to November 13 in Senegal, will make history as Africa's first Youth Olympic Games. Among the 2,700 young athletes participating, six young refugees will compete as members of the first Refugee Olympic Team in a Youth Olympic Games. These athletes, three girls and three boys, are normally based across Kenya and Uganda and have gathered at a high-altitude training camp in Kaptagat, near Eldoret in Kenya, to prepare for the Games.
The six athletes, aged between 15 and 17, will compete in athletics, judo, and taekwondo, representing young refugees whose sporting ambitions can be difficult to pursue when displacement disrupts access to coaching, facilities, nutrition, and regular competition. Clement Niyomuhoza, 16, will race in the 800 meters and has set a target of winning gold. Niyomuhoza grew up in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp after his family fled Burundi and wants to use any success in athletics to help children facing insecurity.
The training camp has provided the athletes with an opportunity to train as a team and prepare for the demands of international competition. Alongside conditioning and sport-specific training, the athletes have taken part in team briefings and media training. They have also met Kenyan Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge, who mentored them on discipline, goal-setting, and teamwork. The camp has given the athletes a great experience, allowing them to train together and build friendships.
The Refugee Olympic Team's participation in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games marks a milestone in international sport. For the six athletes, the opportunity is both personal and collective. Lourance Namukiza, 16, will compete in the women's taekwondo event and hopes that seeing young refugees reach an international competition will encourage others who have given up sport or doubt that they can progress.
The team’s composition reflects the role of host countries in helping young refugee athletes reach international competition. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kenya is the host National Olympic Committee for judo athlete Arno, 15; Niyomuhoza; Namukiza; and 17-year-old 800-meter runner Nyataba. Uganda is the host committee for Florence Masumbe and Rachid Rochene.
The IOC reports that East and Southern Africa hosts 6.4 million refugees and asylum-seekers, with children under 18 accounting for an estimated 48 percent. Kenya and Uganda are among the region’s major refugee-hosting countries. In West and Central Africa, where Senegal is hosting the Games, the IOC reports 20.1 million forcibly displaced and stateless people.
The Dakar team is supported through a collaboration involving the Olympic Refuge Foundation, World Athletics, the National Olympic Committee of Uganda, and Athletics Kenya, with the National Olympic Committee of Kenya hosting the project. The connection between the Olympic Refuge Foundation's community work and the elite Refugee Athlete Support program offers a route from community sport towards elite competition.
Key points
- The six young refugee athletes will compete in athletics, judo, and taekwondo at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
- The Refugee Olympic Team's participation marks a milestone in international sport, providing an opportunity for young refugees to pursue their sporting ambitions.
- The athletes' journey highlights the promise of sporting inclusion and the importance of programs that make sport accessible to young refugees and members of host communities.
