by James Gitaka
For weeks, the road to Dakar has begun long before these young athletes reach Senegal.
It has started at the Complete Sports Athletics Training Centre in Kaptagat, Kenya, where six young athletes affected by displacement have been training together ahead of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
Rachid Rechene, Florence Masimbi, Clement Niyomuhoza, Nyataba Kuek, Lourance Namukiza and Arno Yfunga are preparing to make history as members of the first-ever Youth Refugee Olympic Team to compete at a Youth Olympic Games.
Dakar 2026, scheduled for 31 October to 13 November 2026, will bring together about 2,700 young athletes and will be the first Youth Olympic Games staged in Africa.
For the six athletes, however, the journey to Dakar is about more than a sporting competition. It is an opportunity to compete, develop their talent and, through sport, be seen beyond the
circumstances of displacement that have shaped parts of their lives. A team taking shape in Kaptagat
In September 2026, at the Complete Sports Athletics Training Centre in Kaptagat, Kenya, the athletes have spent weeks training together, building physical strength while developing the trust and friendships required to compete as a team.
Sixteen-year-old Clement Niyomuhoza, an 800-metre runner selected by his teammates as team captain, says training together has transformed the experience.
“The training camp has given us a great experience, because we have been able to train together. If you practise alone, you don’t get experience, but when you have a partner they can
push you, or if you have energy you can push your training partner. And the friendships we have built here are great, we love each other.”
For the young athletes, the camp has become both a training environment and a place to build a sense of belonging.
Sixteen-year-old Rachid Rechene, a Congolese sprinter who sought refuge in Uganda, is preparing for the men’s 200 metres.
“Dakar 2026 is a great chance for us as refugee youth. The training is good and we like the facility. I have made progress in my speed and time. I now know my potential and I’m sprinting better and faster.”
His focus is firmly on competition.
“What I’m looking forward to in Dakar is winning a medal – not silver, or even bronze. I want gold.”
But Rechene’s ambitions extend beyond the track.
“A medal comes with a price. After winning that medal, I want to build a home for orphans where children can stay safe, where athletes can get nutrition. My heart tells me to do that.”
The athletes will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo, with Rechene and Florence Masimbi taking part in sprint events; Clement Niyomuhoza and Nyataba Kuek contesting the 800 metres; Arno Yfunga competing in judo; and Lourance Namukiza representing the team in taekwondo.
Their backgrounds are different, as are their disciplines, but they share the experience of developing their sporting ambitions while living away from their countries of origin.
For these young athletes, Dakar provides an opportunity to test their abilities on an international stage.
A milestone for the Youth Olympic Games
The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that Dakar 2026 will mark the first appearance of a Youth Refugee Olympic Team at a Youth Olympic Games.
The initiative builds on the IOC’s creation of the first Refugee Olympic Team in 2015. The team made its Olympic debut at Rio 2016, when 10 athletes from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo competed alongside athletes from around the world.
The refugee programme has since expanded through the Olympic Refuge Foundation and other initiatives designed to increase access to sport for displaced young people.
Dakar 2026 will take that story into the youth category for the first time.
For the six athletes training in Kaptagat on 9 September 2026, the historic moment is still weeks away.
For now, the focus remains on training, preparation and the opportunity to compete. The road to Dakar continues.
