Spain captured two bronze medals at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, lifting the nation’s total to six podium finishes.
Álex Sangil secured third place in the 1,500-meter athletics final on Monday with a time of 3:59.70. Ethiopia’s Wabi Seblega claimed the gold medal in 3:58.73, while Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Achintha Gallage Don took silver in 3:59.08.
Sandra Pérez added a second bronze for the Spanish delegation in recurve archery. Pérez defeated Slovakia’s Adela Tollarovicova 7-1 in the round of 16 before edging France’s Aurane Lapouge 6-5 in a tie-breaking shoot-off in the quarterfinals.
Pérez fell 7-1 in the semifinals to Turkey’s Dunya Yenihayat, who went on to win the gold medal. In the third-place playoff, the Spanish archer rebounded to defeat Singapore’s Tabitha Ern Lin Yeo 6-4.
While Sangil reached the podium in the 1,500 meters, other Spanish athletes narrowly missed out on medals in Dakar. Discus thrower Cristóbal Díaz finished with a best mark of 55.09 meters, placing fourth and less than a meter away from a medal. Pablo Vázquez also finished fourth in the 2,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 5:46.05, while Mónica Galiano placed ninth in the 400-meter final with a time of 57.04.
In the boxing ring, Pablo Souto advanced to the 65kg semifinals by defeating Trinidad and Tobago’s Makieve Bellille 5-0. Souto has secured at least a bronze medal and will face Israel’s Artur Eytan Prohnevsky on Wednesday for a spot in the final.
Monday’s two bronze medals bring Spain’s overall tally at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games to six. The prior medalists for the Spanish delegation include:
- Gift Onkurobo: Gold in triple jump
- Diego Molina: Silver in beach rowing
- Graciela Eningo: Silver in beach wrestling
- Blanca Pérez: Bronze in beach rowing
The Youth Olympic Games in Senegal feature athletes under 17 years of age competing across multiple disciplines.
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