President Paul Kagame has arrived in Dakar, Senegal, to attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Saturday, October 31, marking the first time an Olympic sporting event is being hosted on African soil.
President Kagame will join his Senegalese counterpart, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and other heads of state at the ceremony scheduled to take place at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, near Dakar.
According to a statement issued by the Senegalese government on October 28, President Faye will officially open the Games, which bring together young athletes from around the world for international sporting competitions.
Rwanda is represented by nine athletes competing in five sports: athletics, swimming, cycling, taekwondo and kung fu wushu.
The Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee confirmed that the delegation had already arrived in Senegal, accompanied by five coaches, two medical personnel and two team officials.
The swimming team includes Murenzi Sheja Kean, Ntwali Jayden, Kalisa Keza and Mugabo Aragsan Liban, while Akimana Donatha and Shema Emmanuel will compete in cycling.
Abizera Sonia Eli Elohe will represent Rwanda in athletics, Uwamahoro Francoise in taekwondo and Mugisha Francois in kung fu wushu.
According to the committee’s competition schedule, Rwanda’s swimmers will compete between November 1 and 6, while the wushu competition involving Mugisha is scheduled for November 3.
The country’s athletics, cycling and taekwondo representatives will compete later in the Games, between November 8 and 10.
The Rwandan athletes prepared for the competition through training camps and participation in regional and continental championships before travelling to Senegal.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says approximately 2,700 athletes are expected to participate in the Games, which feature 25 competition sports and 153 medal events.
The competitions will take place across eight venues in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, with the Games running until November 13.
Beyond the sporting competitions, the event includes cultural and educational activities intended to encourage interaction among young athletes and promote the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, the first African to lead the organisation, arrived in Senegal earlier this week and visited the Youth Olympic Village in Diamniadio on October 29.
Coventry, a former Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe, welcomed the preparations and highlighted the significance of bringing an Olympic event to Africa for the first time.
The Dakar Games are the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games, following Singapore in 2010, Nanjing in 2014 and Buenos Aires in 2018.
Senegal was originally scheduled to host the event in 2022, but the Games were postponed to 2026 following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The opening ceremony will mark a historic occasion for Senegal and the African sporting community as young athletes begin competing on the continent’s first Olympic stage.
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