• OTHERS

• Frank Rotich 1 month ago

Refugee Team set for historic debut at Youth Olympics in Dakar

Six refugee athletes are set to make history at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, becoming the first refugee team to compete at the Youth Olympics.

The Games will run from October 31 to November 13 and will be the first edition of the Youth Olympics to be held on African soil.

The refugee team comprises Rashid Rechene, Florence Masimbi, Clement Niyomuhoza, Nyataba Kuek, Lourance Namukiza and Arno Yfunga, who will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo.

The athletes have been preparing at Complete Sports in Kaptagat, Uasin Gishu County, where they have undergone intensive physical and mental training while building team cohesion ahead of their Olympic debut.

Rechene, a 16-year-old 200m sprinter from Congo who sought refuge in Uganda, says the training has helped him improve his speed and understand his potential.

Fellow sprinter Masimbi, also 16, says the athletes have drawn great motivation from their coaches and mentors as they prepare for the competition.

Kuek and Niyomuhoza, aged 17 and 16 respectively, will compete in the 800m, while Yfunga will represent the team in judo and Namukiza in taekwondo.

The team was selected from Kenya and Uganda and will compete against athletes representing their respective countries.

Their participation comes at a time when global displacement continues to rise, with the UNHCR estimating that more than 117 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide.

The International Olympic Committee and Olympic Refuge Foundation have supported the team alongside the National Olympic Committees of Kenya and Uganda, World Athletics, UNHCR, Athletics Kenya and the national judo and taekwondo federations.

Double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, who serves as a World Athletics Refugee Athletes mentor, recently visited the team in Kaptagat and encouraged greater support for the athletes as they pursue their dreams.

National Olympic Committee of Kenya First Deputy President Barnaba Korir said the team had been given an important opportunity to demonstrate that refugee athletes can compete at the highest level.

The team's Chef de Mission, Yiech Pur Biel, believes the Dakar Games will carry special significance for Africa and the refugee community, given the continent's large refugee population.

World Athletics representative Alice Annibali also said the governing body is working with Athletics Kenya to integrate refugee athletes into local competitions, including cross-country, while strengthening safeguarding measures.

The six athletes will now look to turn months of preparation into memorable performances when they make their historic Youth Olympic debut in Dakar.